The Darker Side of Dueling
by Shadow Kick
Summary: Tempest Shadow, along with her brother Grubber, and her friend Capper, have suffered a great loss. But thanks to the power of the Plana, the Quantum Cube, and the Staff of Sacanas, Tempest believes she can now remake the world into a utopia, where evil would ever exist. But is Tempest really using her new power the right way? Or is she just driving the world toward a greater doom?
1. Dark Roots

On a hot afternoon in Egypt, a pair of abandoned siblings wandered around the market stands begging people and shoppers for money. But hardly anyone would assist them.

"Beat it!" said one of the market men. "Stupid beggars, always pretending to be homeless just to get free food."

One of the siblings fell to the ground, exhausted by the heat. "I don't know… if I can go on."

Her younger brother then arrived with a cup of water. "Here, take it."

The older sister immediately consumed the liquid. "Thank you so much, Grubber."

"No problem, big sis," said Grubber. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now," said Tempest. "Thanks to you."

An hour later, the siblings arrived at their shelter.

"I'm so tired, Tempest," said Grubber.

"I know, little bro," said Tempest. "It's been a long day."

Inside, a tall, hairy, slave merchant named Storm was consuming large amounts of food when the siblings presented the few dollars they had collected to him.

"You gotta be kidding me!" yelled Storm. "Out all day and this is all you could get?! Bleh! Well no food for you two, or any of the others!"

The pair then headed to their room, which they shared with five other children. Mani, Diva, Sera, Capper, and Tomo.

"I'm sorry," said Tempest. "It's my fault we're not eating tonight."

"You know that's not true," said Capper. "No matter how much money we bring him, it's never good enough."

"I guess you're right," said Tempest.

"But you're hungry, let's all play a game," said Capper. "It'll keep us distracted from hunger."

"Which game should we play?" asked Grubber.

"How about we look at the clouds?" asked Diva.

So the kids all looked out the window to see what shapes they could make out in the nighttime clouds.

"That one looks like a car," said Sera.

"That one looks like a pot," said Diva.

"A pot of beef stew," said Mani.

"I prefer pie," said Tempest.

"Oh I love pie," said Grubber.

All the kids started laughing.

A few seconds later, Storm came into their room.

"Hey! What's so funny?" asked Storm as he grabbed Tempest by her shirt. "Oh, so now you're not laughing, huh?"

"We're sorry, Storm!" said Grubber. "And we'll do better tomorrow."

"Hey!" said Storm. "What are you all supposed to call me?!"

"King!" said all the kids at once.

"Great!" said Storm. "But you know what? You kids are just too, oh I don't know… CUTE! I don't like cute! I never did-"

Suddenly, a bright light lit up the doorway and a bald man in white Egyptian clothing appeared. "Fear not, children. I come in peace, and I have wonderful news. You… are _all_ free."

Storm clenched his fist. "What are you doing in my house?!" But when he tried to punch the man, he instantly froze. "Why can't I… move?"

"I am Shadi Shin," said the man. "And those with the most wretched lives… deserve the most beautiful." He raised his index finger and it started to glow. "Together, we will create that beauty." He then tabbed Tempest's forehead with his glowing finger and a shining pyramid appeared on it. Tempest then magically disappeared.

"Tempest!" said Grubber.

"Your sister is fine," said Shadi. "As you all will be." Shining pyramids then appeared on the other kid's foreheads as well, causing them to teleport out of the house.

Storm then fell to the ground, still unable to move. "Hey! Those were _my_ brats!"

"People like you, are the reason I am here," said Shadi. "You will never harm anyone _ever_ again."

"Oh yeah?!" yelled Storm as he continued to struggle.

A cube then appeared in Shadi's hand. He then pointed it at Storm and he disintegrated.

After grabbing a staff from the merchant's home, Shadi teleported to the same place as the children.

* * *

The children were all transported to the Shrine of the Millennium Stone.

"Where are we?" asked Tempest.

"I don't know," said Grubber.

Shadi then appeared before them. "You are in the Shrine of the Millennium Stone."

"What are you going to do with us?" asked Capper.

"Nothing," said Shadi. "I only came to release you from that prison, and give you all a better life." He then walked over, picked up a basket, and brought it over to the kids. "Now, if any of you are hungry, I have plenty of food. Here."

The kids gasped when they opened the basket. Inside was chicken and lots of fruit.

"Yay!" cheered Tempest, Sera, and Diva.

"Alright!" said Grubber, Capper, Tomo, and Mani. And they all dove right into the food.

* * *

A couple of years had gone by Shadi took the seven kids in. He kept them safe, gave them education, fed them, and taught them about the Millennium items and the Shadow Games.

"Master Shadi?" asked Grubber. "Tell us again. Why did you chose us?"

"Because, as children you can understand things that most adults can't," said Shadi.

"I don't get it," said Grubber.

"Yeah," said Tempest. "I mean… how does being children makes us different?"

"You see, Tempest," said Shadi. "A child's judgement has not yet been consumed by fear."

"Is fear bad?" asked Capper.

"That is correct," said Shadi. "Because fear, turns into hate."

"Why does it?" asked Capper.

"Because, fear tricks and clouds your judgement," answered Shadi.

"Oh, I see," said Tempest. "When someone is scared, they forget to do the right thing and lash out."

"And they end up angry at the world," added Diva.

"Very good, young ones," said Shadi. "And they often take out this anger in the form of aggression. Sadly, this has been the cause of the world's failings for millennia."

"Don't worry about me," said Tempest. "Ever since you saved us, I haven't a moment of fear. And as long as I'm with you, I'll never feel fear again."

"Tempest," said Shadi. "That is the very definition of fear."

"It, is…?" asked Tempest.

"My children, listen very closely," said Shadi. "When the seven treasures are inserted in the Pharaoh's stone, the door to the afterlife will open, and the Pharaoh's soul will finally be able to move on. When this happens, the Plana's power will be yours to wield as you see fit. Which is why I teach you these lessons. Because I may not always be here to you guidance. My hope however, is that I will remain in your hearts. And now, young ones. There is one last matter, it is not a lesson, but a warning. One you must never forget. When the Pharaoh leaves this world, the power of the Plana will be granted. But, should he ever return, this power will be recanted, forever."

"Yes master," said Tempest.

At the moment, Mr. Bakura stepped into the Shrine carrying a bag.

"Young ones, stay and do not follow," said Shadi. He then approached the man.

"At last!" said Mr. Bakura. "I've finally found this place! And there it is! The Ancient Stone!" He ran over to the Millennium Stone to see the Millennium Ring and Scales. "It's just as the ancient texts say. The Golden Ring is inside!" He then unzipped his bag and held out four stacks of money to Shadi. "Whatever you want, I'll pay it! Just tell me what your price is! I must have that ring!"

"You are mistaken," said Shadi. "The Millennium Ring is not an object one can possess. _It_ possesses you. It has powers even I do not fully understand. Great and terrible powers."

"So? I do not care!" said Mr. Bakura. "I've been searching for this my whole life! Please sir!"

"It is not my place to interfere with what destiny has in store," said Shadi. "You've been warned. But if you still want the ring, it's yours."

Mr. Bakura's son Ryou, who had secretly tagged along with his dad, stepped for behind a pillar.

"Yes, yes, yes! I want it!" said Mr. Bakura. "What must I do?!"

"Simply take the ring and place it around your neck," said Shadi. " _It_ will decide if you are worthy."

"Yes, yes!" said Mr. Bakura as he put the ring on. "It feels amazing! Like nothing I've ever experienced!" Just then, dark serpent-like monsters shot out of the ring and flung Mr. Bakura across the floor, detaching it from his neck.

"No!" cried Ryou. "Papa! Are you okay?!"

"The… ring," said Mr. Bakura weakly. "Where… is it?"

"I'll get it!" said Ryou as he ran toward the Millennium item. But as Ryou picked up the ring, a purple light emitted from it, and the evil soul of the King of Thieves fused with Ryou's body, then the ring disappeared under his skin.

"Oh no!" cried Shadi as he blocked the children.

The purple light then faded.

"Are you alright, child?" asked Shadi.

Ryou replied with an evil chuckle. "Shadi, your services are no longer required! Now begone old man!" Ryou then fired a beam of darkness from his hand right through Shadi's chest.

"No! Master Shadi!" cried Tempest.

All the kids ran to their master.

"Are you okay?" asked Grubber.

"Say something," said Tempest.

"Remember young ones," said Shadi weakly. "Do not give into your fear, do not give into hate. One day, the seven treasures will become one with the Pharaoh's stone… You must be ready…You must find harmony between the forces or good and evil…"

"Hold on, Master Shadi!" said Tempest. "Please, hold on!"

"Tempest…" said Shadi. "Take this. This is the Quantum Cube, a Millennium Item that was created in secret. Use it to wield the power of the Plana. You must carry it now… for my time in this world… is complete…"

The children all cried as their master died.

"No!" cried Capper.

"Don't leave us!" begged Tempest. "Please come back."

"Don't waste all your tears on him!" said Ryou. "You really ought to save some for each other!" He then fired the same beams of darkness at all the kids, killing Diva, Sera, Mani, and Tomo. Only Tempest, Grubber, and Capper managed to remain conscious, but the Quantum Cube was thrown across the room. "I like this new host body. I think we'll be able to do all kinds of terrible things together." Ryou then walked out of the shrine.

Tempest then crawled across the ground to get the Quantum Cube. A scar now laid across her right eye from Ryou's attack. Just as she was about to reach the cube, a long staff with a gem on the top fell to the floor. The staff's gem then glowed blue and sucked out all the power of the Cube and into the staff.

"What the heck just happened?" asked Tempest.

"Master Shadi said this was called the Staff of Sacanas," said Grubber. "He said he found it in that merchant's house."

"He also said it has the power to drain the magic out items and people," added Capper.

"I think we may need this," said Tempest.

"For what?" asked Grubber.

"To help us stop that evil boy that killed Master Shadi," said Tempest.

* * *

Several years later, Tempest entered the city of Canterlot, believing Yugi Muto was there, but was mistaken. Eventually, she came across Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, and the other girls. She then secretly followed them to their school one day. _"It seems that these girls all know Yugi from the Battle City tournament. They could be my key to locating him, then we will finally be able to rid this horrid world of all evil!"_ She then altered the memories of the students and staff off Canterlot High, implanting the notion that she was now a new student at their school, so she could continue to monitor the girls, hoping that soon, they could lead her to Yugi Moto.


	2. A Tempting Duel

At the Shrine of the Underworld in Kul Elna, Egypt. An excavation was hired by KaibaCorp to dig up the Millennium Puzzle.

A while later, a helicopter carrying Mokuba flew past the site. He then took out his phone and called his brother. "Don't worry, big bro. We'll find it."

* * *

At the Kame Game shop, Yugi was about to go to school, but his Grandpa stopped him.

"Hey Yugi, where's Tea?" asked Solomon. "I haven't seen her lately. And don't you two _always_ walk together?"

"Only little kids do that, Grandpa," said Yugi blushing. "Anyway, gotta run!"

A short while later, Yugi found Tea waiting for him on top of a small flight of stairs.

After coming down, she gave Yugi a shoulder bump. "Sorry I kept ya waiting."

"You didn't," said Yugi.

Meanwhile, Joey was racing to school on his bicycle. "Man! How am I late for school again?!"

As Yugi and Tea arrived at school, they found Bakura being obsessed over by a group of girls.

"Hey Bakura! Over here!" called Yugi.

"Guess there's something about that accent," said Tea.

"Yugi, hi!" said Bakura.

After accidently getting soaked by Sansei, and knocking over a policeman, Joey caught up with Tristan and gave him a lift. The two then sped down the hill and got inside the school gate, just as Mr. Karita was shutting it.

At lunchtime, Yugi and his friends ate their food on the roof of the school and talked about their plans for the future.

"No way!" said Joey. "You got it? That study abroad program is lucky to have ya, Tea. But aren't ya a little scared?"

"Well," answered Tea. "To be a professional dancer, I can't be afraid to bite off more than I can chew."

"I'm very proud of you for following you're dreams, Tea," said Bakura.

"At least someone gets to," said Tristan. "My dad says that after I graduate, I have to work in his factory."

"Chin up, pal," said Joey. "It could be worse."

"And you, Joey?" asked Tea. "You still plan on becoming a professional Duelist?"

"You better believe it," answered Joey. "I'm gonna be the champion of the world in no time! And there's no out there who can stop me."

"Except our math teacher, who confiscated your duel disk for polishing it in class," said Tristan.

"How about I teach ya some new wrestling moves I learned last summer?!" asked Joey as he put Tristan in a head lock.

"Uncle! Uncle!" cried Tristan.

"Your turn, Yugi," said Tea. "What's your game plan?"

"Well," said Yugi. "I'm gonna keep helping my grandpa at the game shop. But I'm start creating my own games too. I know it sounds cheesy, but I was hoping… one day, I'll invent a game that we can all play together."

"That would be great, Yugi," said Bakura.

"For sure," said Joey. "In fact, let's promise, that when Yugi's game makes it big, we all meet up and play it. Whatta say, guys?"

"I'm in," said Tristan.

"Yes, me too," said Bakura.

Yugi seemed worried. "When you guys say 'big'…"

"Don't worry," said Tea. "You'll do it. Just remember, your friends believe in you."

"Thanks," said Yugi. "And I believe in you all too."

* * *

Over at Canterlot High, the seven friends were all discussing their own dreams of the future.

"I'm going to create my own clothe line," said Rarity.

"My dream is to win a bunch of gold medals in the Olympics," said Rainbow.

"I'm just gonna keep working on the farm," said Applejack. "There's nothing I'd rather do."

"I'm wanna be a professional party planner," said Pinkie.

"Well, you're doing a great job so far," said Fluttershy.

"Thank you," said Pinkie.

"You're very welcome," said Fluttershy. "Anyway, I hope to become a veterinarian and a breeder."

"Wow," said Sunset. "Such a big responsibility."

"But it's what I wanna do," said Fluttershy with confidence.

"There's a lot of stuff I wanna do," said Twilight.

"Like what?" asked Rarity. "Besides marrying Timber Spruce someday?"

Twilight's cheeks instantly turned red. "Become a scientist and discover all kinds of things in biochemistry, astronomy, physics, neuroscience, etc."

"Woah," said the other girls.

"Anyway," said Twi. "What about you, Sunset?"

"I don't know, yet," admitted Sunset. "Maybe be a singer, or a model."

"Or both!" said Pinkie.

Then the bell rang.

"Come on, ya'll!" said AJ as the girls rushed to their next class.

"Hey," said Rainbow.

"What is it?" asked Twilight.

"That girl, in the corner," said Rainbow. "Who is she again?"

"You don't remember her?" asked Sunset.

"Not really," admitted Rainbow. "I know she's been in our class all year, but I can't seem to recall her, because always just… keeps to herself."

"The wallflower type, huh?" asked Applejack.

"I know what that's like," said Twi.

"Me too," said Fluttershy.

"Oh come on," said Pinkie. "How could anyone forget her name? It's Fizzlepop."

"Oh yeah," said Rainbow.

"Well, you never forget _anyone's_ name," said Rarity.

"I wonder what happened to her eye," wondered Sunset.

A second later, Mr. Cranky came in. "Alright, everyone take your seats!"

" _So,"_ thought Fizzlepop. _"They're the girls who know Yugi Moto."_

* * *

(Domino High)

After school, Tristan took off, so Yugi, Joey and Tea walked home together across a bridge.

"Well Joey. Hope you're happy," said Tea. "You got your duel disk back."

"Sure am," replied Joey. "Though, it could use another polish."

Yugi then took out his deck and stared at it.

"Hey Yuge," said Joey. "Whatcha got your deck out for? You wanna take me on in a duel?"

"No," answered Yugi. "Just thinking back."

"About what?" asked Joey.

"About...him," said Yugi.

"You mean Atem?" asked Tea.

"Oh, sorry," said Yugi. "Just forget that I even brought it up."

"Yuge, its okay," said Joey. "You guys… shared a connection. It totally makes sense you miss him sometimes."

"Not just sometimes," said Yugi. "All the time. _It's just that... things ended so suddenly between us. You used to be a part of me. But then, we had to face each other in a duel, to determine whether I was ready to stand on my own. And when I defeated you, you left us. You left me...forever. I know it was for the best, but I wish I had one more chance to let him know what he meant to me."_

"Uh-oh," said Joey. "Trouble."

"Huh?" asked Yugi.

"What is it, Joey?" asked Tea.

"Look," said Joey pointing under the bridge. Fizzlepop was surrounded by Scud and his gang. Joey immediately ran down to help her.

At that moment, Sunset and the girls had just started across the bridge with Big Mac and Bulk Biceps when they heard the commotion.

"Oh no," said Fluttershy.

"Man I hate bullies," said Rainbow.

"Well then, let's go!" said Applejack.

"Dang," said Scud. "You really got a nice bod, Fizzy. You work out?"

All Fizzlepop did was scowl.

"Woah," said Scud. "She's even hot when she's mad, isn't she, Verko?"

"You bet," answered Verko.

"Leave her alone!" yelled Joey as he came down.

"Joey Wheeler," said Scud.

"Whatta you want?" asked Verko.

"A fight!" answered. "If ya don't leave her alone!"

"You and whose army?" asked Scud.

"Our army!" said a voice.

"Huh?" asked Scud.

Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, Big Mac and Bulk came down.

"Wow," said Scud. "These girls are just as hot."

"Indeed," said Rarity. "We're so hot, that you could get _burned_. Right boys?"

"Yep!" answered Big Mac.

"YEAH!" yelled Bulk flexing his muscles.

"Yikes!" cried Scud and his gang. "Come on, boys! Let's get outta here!"

"Yo Fizzlepop!" said Joey. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," said Fizzlepop. "Thank you, all of you."

"No problem," said Joey.

"Yeah, it was our pleasure," said Rainbow.

"Yep," said Big Mac.

"Yeah!" repeated Bulk.

"That's enough for now, darling," said Rarity.

"Never mind!" said Bulk.

"Everything okay?" asked Yugi. "Rainbow!"

"Hi Yugi!" said Rainbow. "Long time no see."

"Hey, what's up Pinkie?" asked Joey.

"Not much," answered Pinkie. "How've you been?"

"Pretty good," answered Joey. "Hey Tea, look who's here?"

"Girls!" said Tea. "Oh it's so good to see you all again."

"You too, darling," said Rarity. "It's way too long since Battle City."

"I'll say," said Tea. "Hi, Fluttershy."

"Hi," said Flutts. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine now," said Joey. "Right, Fizzlepop?"

"Fizzlepop?" asked Rainbow.

"Cool name," said Pinkie.

"Thanks," said Fizzle. "You're Pinkie, Right? And all of you are her friends?"

"My best pals in the whole world!" answered Pinkie. "And our old friends from the Battle City tournament."

"Cool," said Fizzlepop. "I can't believe you're all friends of the famous Yugi Moto."

"Well," said Yugi. "I don't know about famous."

"Well anyway, thanks again," said Fizzlepop. "All of you."

"Hey," said Joey. "If those freaks ever give you trouble again, we can help, okay?"

"Thanks, but I'll be okay." said Fizzle. She then looked at Yugi, and walked off.

"Well, she ain't much for words," said AJ.

"Has she always been like that?" asked Tea.

"I really don't know," said Twilight.

"Wow, Twilight," said Tea. "Love the new look."

Twilight was confused at first, but then she remembered her friends talking about how the Equestrian Twilight won the Battle City tournament to get her crown back. "Oh yeah, thank you. You can thank Rarity for it."

"Hey, what's she doing here?" said Joey looking at Sunset.

Rainbow quickly pulled Joey aside. _"Relax, she's turned over a whole new leaf. Just like how your friend Marik did."_

"Oh, okay," said Joey. "Never mind, really sorry about that."

"None taken," said Sunset. _"Again."_

"So," said Yugi. "Has Fizzlepop always been like that?"

"Like I said, we really don't know," answered Twi.

"Oh well, no worries," said Joey. "How about we go get hot dogs?"

"Yum!" said Pinkie. "What are we waiting for?"

"Here we go again," said Tea.

"I know," said Fluttershy.

* * *

Later at night, Fizzlepop was walking home when suddenly, Scud and his gang surrounded her again.

"Hey there, pretty lady," said Scud.

Fizzle immediately scowled.

"What's wrong?" asked Verko. "Your body guards get the night off?"

Fizzle then laughed.

"What's so funny?" asked Scud.

"Oh you'll see," said Fizzle. She then pulled out a collapsible staff with a jewel on one end and extended it.

"Woah," said Verko. "I guess she knows _karate_! _Hi-ya_!"

"Well we have a few weapons ourselves," said Scud. He and his gang took out various tools.

"Those won't do you any good," said Fizzle. "Not where you all are going."

"Whatta mean?" asked Scud.

The jewel on Fizzle's staff glowed and large electrical bolts began sparking all around it. Then the street lights suddenly exploded.

"Ah!" cried Verko. "Who are you?"

"Someone who can turn your pitiful world into something grand," answered Fizzle. "A place you all don't deserve to exist."

A group of children with glowing eyes appeared and surround the gang.

"Who are they?" asked Scud.

"I'm afraid you freaks won't be around long enough to find out," said Fizzle.

"Um… look! We're sorry!" said Scud.

Fizzle's smile turned into a death glare.

"Can't ya just let us go?" asked Verko.

"Fine," said Fizzle. A symbol then appeared on her forehead as she tapped the ground with the bottom of her staff.

The gangsters started to glow yellow, and then disintegrated, causing their camera to drop.

The glowing children then vanished, and Fizzle collected the Scud's camera.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the new KaibaCorp space station, Kaiba had just finished testing out his new duel disk by creating and defeating a virtual copy of Atem.

"Well done, Mr. Kaiba," said Mr. Kuwabara.

"A success on every level," said Ms. Watanabe as she handed him a bottle of water. "You should be proud."

"I am," said Kaiba. "The new Duel Link Solid-vision System is a technological marvel. It's far superior to any design that came before it. It's sleeker, more precise. It gives me real time data from KaibaCorp's Crystal Cloud Network, and when used in tandem with my new duel disk, it gives life to all the cards I've collected throughout the years. It can even give life to my very thoughts! After all, since it's directly connected with my brain, anything I imagine can appear in a hologram. Even, a battle with the Pharaoh." He then drank his beverage.

"And you defeated him soundly sir," said Mr. Kuwabara.

"I concur," said Ms. Watanabe. "It was no contest."

"Quiet, you sniveling sycophants!" said Kaiba crushing his bottle. "Even though I was able recreate and defeat him, it wasn't the real Pharaoh, so I never really beat him! And until I do, my scars of defeat will continue to burn." He then threw the bottle across the floor. _"I will face you again, Pharaoh. You can't hide forever."_

Mokuba then contacted the space station and Kaiba put him on screen. "Seto! Good news. We found it." The screen zoomed in on the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle.

* * *

At the Domino mall, Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Bakura, and the girls were sitting at Devlin's café. Joey was passing out balloons to the kids in his dog costume, while Duke cooked and served the food.

"Tristan, isn't that Joey's duel disk?" asked Duke. "You got serious guts taking it apart like that."

"Nah, its cool, Duke," said Tristan. "It's been acting up, so Joey asked me to fix it for him."

Yugi was reading something on his IPad about a group of missing kids.

"Hey, what you looking at there, Yugi?" asked Tea.

"This article," answered Yugi.

"Wait, it's those bullies," said Tea.

"Says here that they all disappeared without a trace," said Yugi.

"And they're still missing?" asked Fluttershy.

"Yeah," answered Sunset. "And it get worse. It also says there's a bunch of these cases all over the city."

"Not just the city, all over the world," said Duke. "I saw something online about fifty people vanishing all at once."

"What?" asked Applejack.

"No way," said Rainbow.

"Anyway, enjoy your lunch," said Duke.

"Oh, we will," said Pinkie.

"Thanks, Duke. We'll try," said Twilight.

"But how can we when someone or something out there is just making people vanish?" asked Bakura. "They could be watching us right now."

"True," said Tea. "But I think they're all pretty harmless, Bakura. Look."

Bakura looked over, and saw some of the girls from school waving at him.

"It's the accent," said Tristan. "Gets em every time."

"I know what ya mean," said Applejack. "Nearly every guy at Canterlot High goes gaga over Rarity."

"Can I help if I'm fabulous?" asked Rarity.

The music then stopped and Kaiba appeared on the mall's screens. "Attention everyone!"

Yugi, his gang and the girls all looked at the screen.

" _It is I, Seto Kaiba! And once again I'm about to change your lives!"_ said Kaiba. _"With the next generation of Duel Disk, your reality will become ever more real!"_

Joey then took off his dog mask. "A brand new disk?!"

"Looks pretty cool," said Yugi.

"Sure does," said Sunset.

"And pricey," said Rainbow.

"Yeah," said Joey. "Ya just know that jerk Kaiba's gonna charge a fortune for it."

"No prob," said Tristan. "You'll just have to man up and work some overtime. Or should I say 'dog' up?"

"Not funny," said Rarity.

"Cheese ball," said Rainbow.

"Cheese balls?!" asked Pinkie. "I love those!"

Fizzlepop was also at the mall on a higher level, looking down over Yugi, his friends, and the girls. She then thought back to a time not too long ago, when she was in the Plana Realm.

* * *

In a plateau above the clouds, seven pillars stood, each depicting a Millennium Item symbol. Children appeared and disappeared as Fizzlepop stood in front of the pillar with the Millennium Key's symbol.

"When Yugi sent the Pharaoh to the great beyond, we were granted the power of the Plana," said Fizzlepop. "The magic to remake the very fiber of reality. But, should the Pharaoh ever return, this power, will be recanted. Master Shadi told us this prophecy, and now it's come true. And I shall use this power, plus the magic I absorbed from the Quantum Cube with my staff, to avenge you, master Shadi."

"Tempest," said Grubber. "You must resist your dark urges. Nothing can grow from them but evil. Have you already forgotten master Shadi's teachings?"

"Of course not," said Tempest. "Even now, his words still echo. But so the memories of what happened that horrid night! And the days before it! How could I ever forget? They are a constant reminder of what _he_ did to master Shadi! And since Ryou's in Domino, that's where I must go!" She then teleported away.

"No Tempest!" cried Grubber. "Come back!"

Capper decided to follow Tempest.

* * *

At the mall, Tempest was still watching over Yugi and the others.

Capper then appeared beside her. _"Tempest, Tempest!"_

" _What?"_ asked Tempest quietly.

" _It's not too late to reconsider your plans,"_ said Capper. _"Come on, I doubt master Shadi would want revenge."_

" _This isn't revenge,"_ said Tempest. _"This… is justice."_

" _Who are you trying to fool?"_ asked Capper.

" _It's what I must do,"_ said Tempest.

" _But at what cost?"_ asked Capper.

" _Any!"_ answered Tempest. _"Answer me this, what is so wrong about eradicating evil?! And no one is more evil than that boy!"_

" _I can't believe you,"_ said Capper. Then he sensed something. _"Tempest! It's been found! Just as we feared."_

" _Then we must go,"_ said Tempest as she and Capper teleported to Egypt.

* * *

In Kul Elna, Mokuba and Roland were waiting for Kaiba. A few seconds later, he arrived in his Blue-Eyes White jet.

"Hey there, bro," said Mokuba.

"You honor us with your presence, sir," said Roland.

Kaiba, Mokuba, and the guards then entered the Shrine.

"Have all the pieces been collected?" asked Kaiba.

"Each and every one, sir," answered Fuguta. "As you requested, we placed all the pieces in our most sophisticated security apparatus, so no one could touch them before your arrival."

An intruder alert then showed up on one of Kaiba's devises.

"Load it into the chopper at once," said Kaiba. "I plan to reassemble it today."

"Yes sir," said Fuguta.

"Reassemble it?" asked Mokuba. "You do realize it took Yugi eight years to complete the Puzzle, right?"

"That's because Yugi's a simple-minded child," said Kaiba. "Let's go!"

"Sorry sir," said Roland. "The system's on a time delay for extra security. I'll take a moment."

"In that case," said Kaiba. "Why don't you show yourself?!"

"Huh?" asked Mokuba.

"We have an unexpected guest, Mokuba," said Kaiba. "Now show yourself, Fizzlepop! Or, would you prefer you other nomenclature? Tempest."

Tempest stepped forward from the excavation team. "So you know my real name? Impressive, Mr. Kaiba."

"My network of security tech says that you were in the town of Domino five minutes ago. How are you suddenly _here_?"

"With a power you couldn't possible comprehend!" answered Tempest. Capper and the other orphans stepped forward to join Tempest. Grubber was not present. "The same that my friends have used to arrive here. And unlike your tech, magic has no limits."

"What's with this girl?" asked Mokuba.

"I assume you're here to take my puzzle?" assumed Kaiba.

"Correct," said Tempest and she took out her closed staff. "Just give it up, or we'll make it difficult, for everyone!"

One of Kaiba's guards held up a gun to Tempest's back. "The jig is up, kid. No sudden moves."

Tempest chuckled. "I was hoping you'd choose _difficult_. Because there's nothing that can stop the power of the Plana!" Just then, a group of purple glowing children appeared behind the guard.

"This can't be happening," said the guard. The jewel on Tempest's staff began to glow. The guard then began to disintegrate, and disappear.

"What are you doing?!" asked Mokuba.

"Not much," answered Tempest. "I'm just sending him to another dimension. You see, we are the Plana, the next evolution of enlightenment. A collective of souls who will rid this world of all evil."

After witnessing the guard's disappearance, the group of workers ran out of the shrine.

"They are wise to run," said Tempest. "But there's no real escape from what's coming. That includes you, Seto Kaiba. After all, you're the worst of them all. You want to control everything in this world, and everyone. Well it'll never happen, because your reign ends here. And as you just witnessed, we've already begun banishing the evil ones to an alternate dimension, where they'll receive exactly what they deserve."

"Those reports!" Mokuba realized. "About people vanishing all around the world, that was you?!"

"Of course," answered Tempest. "And we won't rest until every evil soul suffers the same fate. Like you will right now!"

"Huh?" asked Kaiba as he started to deteriorate.

"Good bye and good riddance," said Tempest.

"I think not!" said Kaiba. "No one orders me around!" He then activated his new duel disk, which countered the effects of the staff with a blinding blue luminescence.

"What's happening?!" asked Tempest. "What? You survived?!"

"Tempest, how is this possible?!" asked Capper. "He shouldn't have been able to repel the Plana's power!"

The glowing children began vanishing until only Tempest and Capper remained.

"You said technology has limits, right?" asked Kaiba. "Wrong! Nothing's limitless when you're as brilliant as I am!"

"Not bad," said Tempest. "However, _I_ will not let you resurrect the Pharaoh."

"Please!" said Kaiba. "You can't stop me."

"Not with my staff perhaps," said Tempest. "But I have other methods. Like my deck."

"Then bring it on," said Kaiba.

Tempest's then pointed the staff's jewel toward her wrist and a duel disk materialized. "Just know this, Seto Kaiba! When you lose, you'll be banished to the place as the others we have captured!"

A portal to the alternate dimension opened up overhead.

"What's going on?!" asked Mokuba looking up at the portal. "What is that?"

"Don't worry, Mokuba," said Kaiba. "I'll finish this quickly."

"Be careful, Tempest," warned Capper. "Kaiba is a formidable adversary."

"Let's duel!" said Kaiba and Tempest.

 **Kaiba LP: 8000**

 **Tempest LP: 8000**

 **Turn 1: Kaiba**

"I'll do the honors," said Kaiba. "I play Fiend's Sanctuary, so I get a metal Fiend token. Then I'll tribute it to summon Krystal Dragon in attack mode! I'll end with a face down."

 **Turn 2: Tempest**

"Then it's my turn," said Tempest. "I'll set a monster in defense mode, and two cards face down. That's all."

 **Turn 3: Kaiba**

"I'm not surprised," said Kaiba. "Now let me show you how it's done! I play Cost Down! By discarding my Lord of Dragons, I can lower the levels of all monsters in my hand by two stars. Now I can summon another Krystal Dragon! And my first one will attack your face down monster!"

Tempest chuckled as her monster was hit. "Meet my Reptilianne Naga. Oh, and she can't be destroyed in battle. Now witness her second effect!"

Kaiba's dragon was instantly petrified.

"What?!" asked Kaiba. "My dragon's been turned to stone!"

"Obsidian, to be precise," corrected Tempest. "Any monster that attacks my Naga, will be turned into an Obsidian Statue, and its ATK points are reduced to zero." (Krystal Dragon ATK: 2500 – 0) "The upside is, now she's forced into attack mode, and can no longer change her position."

"And look at that," said Kaiba. "She doesn't have a single attack point. This next attack will cost _you_ more than it does me! Krystal Dragon, attack her Reptilianne Naga!"

"Not quite," said Tempest. "I activate Spirit Barrier! Now, as long as I have a monster on my side, this card blocks any and all battle damage!"

"Not bad," said Kaiba. "But I can still activate my Krystal Dragon's effects. If one of them attacks, I can add a level eight Dragon monster to my hand. So since they both attacked, I can add two Blue Eyes White Dragons to my hand! Now I'll activate the effect of my Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon! By simply revealing a Blue Eyes in my hand, I can special summon this card to the field! He also has another effect. In exchange for not attacking this turn, I can destroy a monster on your side. So say goodbye to your little snake girl!"

 **Turn 4: Tempest**

Tempest chuckled. "You're making this way too easy, Kaiba. I play Pot of Greed, so I can draw two cards. Now I play Reptilianne Spawn. This lets me banish my Reptilianne Naga, then special summon two Reptile tokens to my side. Now I activate Double Summon, so I can play two monsters. I'll tribute both of my tokens to bring out two Reptilianne Medusas! Now I'll use one of their effects, by discarding a card, (Breakthrough Skill) I can reduce your Alternative dragon's ATK points to zero and turn it into a statue."

"No," breathed Kaiba.

"Now all your dragons are useless," said Tempest. "Reptilianne Medusa! Attack his Alternative Dragon!"

"No!" cried Kaiba.

 **Kaiba LP: 5800**

 **Tempest LP: 8000**

"Now that that troublesome Alternative dragon is gone, I can activate my other trap," said Tempest. "Serpent Suppression! Now all attack position with zero ATK points can't be destroyed by my Reptiliannes."

"Why would you do that?" asked Kaiba.

"Remember my Medusa's effect?" asked Tempest. "After I discard a card, I can force your dragons into attack mode, and reduce their points to zero. That way, I can just keep attacking those pathetic sculptures of yours. Like this! Medusa, attack the Krystal Dragon on the right!"

"Ah!" said Kaiba.

 **Kaiba LP: 3600**

 **Tempest LP: 8000**

"No! Seto!" cried Mokuba.

"I end my turn," said Tempest.

 **Turn 5: Kaiba**

"My turn," said Kaiba. _"If I tribute my dragons to summon my Blue Eyes, she won't lose any points thanks to her Spirit Barrier. Plus, she'll just discard the next card she draws and render my dragon useless. For the time being, I'll strengthen my defenses._ I summon Assault Wyvern in defense mode. Then I'll switch my Krystal Dragons to defense mode and end my turn."

 **Turn 6: Tempest**

"You know what?" asked Tempest. "I don't think I'll use my Medusa's effect. Instead, I'll play Magic Planter to send my Serpent Suppression to the grave, and draw two more cards. Now I play Cross Attack! Since I have two monsters with the same ATK power, I can have one of them attack you directly."

"Oh no!" gasped Kaiba.

"But before I do," said Tempest. "I'll equip my chosen Medusa with United We Stand! Now she gains 800 ATK points for the two monsters I control!" (Reptilianne Medusa ATK: 2200 – 3800)

"3800 ATK points?!" asked Kaiba.

"More than enough to take you out," answered Tempest. "Medusa, end this duel!"

"I don't think so," said Kaiba. "I activate Counter Gate!"

"What?" asked Tempest.

"It lets me negate your direct attack and draw a card," said Kaiba. "If it's a monster, I can normal summon it. _I will… duel you again Pharaoh!"_ He then slammed his hand on the ground.

"Huh?" asked Tempest. "What's happening?!"

Kaiba then drew a card from the ground. "I draw! I sacrifice my three dragons to summon Obelisk the Tormentor!"

"An Egyptian God Card?!" asked Capper. "But how?! Those no longer exist!"

"This isn't possible," said Tempest in shock. "When the Pharaoh left this world, so did the Egyptian God cards. How in the world did Kaiba resurrect Obelisk?!"

"Just so you know," said Kaiba. "One of Pegasus's card makers, called Franz made new copies of the three God cards! _I just can't believe those girls have them._ But this… is the original!"

"I still can't believe it," said Tempest.

 **Turn 7: Kaiba**

"Maybe this will help," said Kaiba. "I play Graceful Charity, so I can draw three cards, and discard my two Blue Eyes. Then I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back one of them! Now I play, Burst Stream of Destruction! If I have a Blue Eyes on the field, I can destroy _all_ of your monsters!"

"No!" said Tempest.

"And that's not all," said Kaiba. "I remove my Lord of Dragons and one of my Krystal Dragons to special summon Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End! Now my Chaos Dragon, attack her directly!"

"Ahh!" cried Tempest.

 **Kaiba LP: 3600**

 **Tempest LP: 5000**

"Now Obelisk! Attack, with Fist of Fate!" ordered Kaiba.

"No!" cried Tempest.

 **Kaiba LP: 3600**

 **Tempest LP: 1000**

"Alright!" cheered Mokuba.

"And now, I'll end this with my Chaos Dragon's effect," said Kaiba.

 **Kaiba LP: 2600**

 **Tempest LP: 1000**

Tempest gasped.

"I give up one grand in points," said Kaiba. "Then I can send all the cards on the field and in our hands to the grave. Then you lose…"

"Not gonna happen!" interrupted Tempest. "I activate the effect of Breakthrough Skill from my graveyard! By banishing this card, I can negate you monster's effect! That was _way_ too close…"

"Big bro!" called Mokuba. "We're all set!" He then hooked up the case to the KaibaCorp helicopter and jumped on as it began to elevate.

"Let's go!" said Roland.

"No!" called Capper. "He's escaping!"

Tempest then teleported up to the case. "I don't think so!" With a glowing purple hand, she reached through the glass and grabbed two of the pieces.

"No!" said Mokuba as he knocked Tempest off the case with a head-butt.

She fell a short distance, but landed on her feet.

"Tempest!" called Kaiba as he hopped into his jet. "We'll finish this later!" He then took off for Domino.

"Yes we will," said Tempest holding the two puzzle pieces.

Capper then noticed a light coming from the pit where Kaiba's team had discovered the puzzle. He teleported down to the source and found a very familiar item. "I can't believe my eyes."


	3. Revealed!

Joey opened his eyes and saw nothing but clouds. "Huh, did I… oversleep?" He then realized he was on top of a floating KaibaCorp blimp. "This isn't my pillow!"

Kaiba then appeared behind him with the new disk.

"Hey, is that the new duel disk?!" asked Joey.

"Of course," answered Kaiba. "But you'll never get one, because you're not worthy! Besides, a commoner like you will never be able to afford it."

"Oh yeah?!" asked Joey. "You just wait! I'll kick your butt eventually!" Joey then lost his footing and fell off the blimp. "I'll show yooooouuuuu!" He then jolted awake and realized it was all a dream. "What? So… I _was_ dreaming?"

"Wake up!" called the gym teacher. "Or I'll make it a nightmare!"

"Sorry," said Joey. He and his friends were at school rehearing graduation and Yugi was currently on stage practicing his touching speech. "Why do we have to rehears our graduation anyhow?"

"Hey, show some respect," said Tea.

"Why?" asked Joey. "No one's really listening, right Tristan?"

But Tristan eyes were full of tears. "Tissues! I need Tissues!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at Canterlot High, Sunset, Rainbow, and Applejack were playing Soccer with their classmates at P.E. Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were cheerleading, and Twilight was keeping score. Tempest was watching from behind the stands.

Grubber then appeared beside her. "Sister, I heard you battled Kaiba."

"Correct," confirmed Tempest. "I'm afraid he has located the Millennium Puzzle."

"What?" asked Grubber. "If he's able to reconstruct it…"

"I know," interrupted Tempest. "The will Pharaoh return and we'll lose our powers. But don't worry, Kaiba can't reassemble the puzzle. Even if he could, it wouldn't matter."

"What do you mean?" asked Grubber.

"If I get rid of Yugi, the Pharaoh will never be able to resurrect," said Tempest.

"You're going too far!" said Grubber. "You're blinded by hate, sister. And if you don't stop, it will destroy you."

"Hold out your hand," said Tempest.

Grubber did, and Tempest handed him one of the puzzle pieces she had stolen from Mokuba. "How did you get this?"

"It doesn't matter," said Tempest. "Just keep it safe, please."

"Just consider what I've said, sister," said Grubber. "I still believe in you." He then disappeared.

"It's too late for me," said Tempest.

As soon as the bell rang, Sunset and the girls headed for the locker room.

Tempest was already there, waiting with towels. "Man, you girls were great out there."

"Thanks," said Sunset.

"Yeah, we were pretty awesome, huh?" asked Rainbow.

"Whew, I'm beat," said AJ.

"I'm just glad it's our last class for the day," said Fluttershy.

"As am I," said Rarity.

"Oh, by the way," said Twilight. "We were about to meet up with Yugi and his pals at the bowling alley. Wanna come?"

"Please!" said Pinkie. "It'll be super-duper fun!"

"Why not?" asked Fizzlepop. _"Excellent."_

* * *

At the bowling alley, Tea had just scored a strike.

"Awesome!" said Joey and Tristan.

"No coming back from that!" said Pinkie and Yugi.

"Nicely done," said Fizzlepop.

"Who's next?" asked Twi.

"I am," answered Applejack. But when her ball hit the pins, they broke. "Oops."

"Man, you're strong," said Yugi.

"Thanks," said Applejack.

"Um… whatta say we all go get some food?" asked Rainbow.

"Sure!" said Pinkie.

So the gangs headed to a fast-food restaurant called The Hay Burger.

After a while, Joey pulled out his Deck and put his Red Eyes on top. "Hey Fizzle, Check it out!"

"Wow, a Red Eyes," said Fizzlepop. "Nice card."

"Thanks," said Joey. "Me and this card have been on some big adventures."

"What about you, Fizzlepop?" asked Yugi. "You like dueling?"

"You bet!" said Fizzle. "But my deck could use improvement."

"Maybe Yugi can help you," said Bakura.

"You bet," said Tristan. "He's the best! He even beat Seto Kaiba!"

"Really," said Fizzle. "Cool."

"That settles it!" said Rarity. "You two should duel some time."

"W-what?" asked Fizzlepop. "Well…"

"It's okay, Fizzlepop," said Yugi. "Don't feel pressured."

"No, I'd love to," said Fizzle. "Just as soon as I tune up my deck a bit more."

"Awesome!" said Joey. "And whoever wins gets to me! Now that's a prize worth fighting for."

"I'll join you guys," said Sunset. "If that's okay?"

"Me too!" said Rainbow.

"And me!" said Twi and AJ.

"This gives me an idea," said Yugi. "Why don't we all get together have a tournament at my Grandpa's game shop?"

"Cool!" said Pinkie.

"I'll be there!" said Tristan.

"But you can't duel," said Applejack.

"I can learn!" said Tristan.

"Yeah right," said Rainbow.

"Be ready to lose," said Joey.

"This'll be fun," said Tea.

"I'll guess I'll join too," said Fluttershy.

* * *

On the ground level of Kaiba's space station, Seto was making arrangements for an exception of his new duel disk. "Set it up at my next dueling tournament. I want it big! The biggest this city has ever seen!"

"Yes sir!" said Roland.

Once Kaiba was at the top of his space station, he placed the Millennium Puzzle pieces into a special container. Once inside, his new multi grid analysis computer system began reassembling the pieces back together. _"At the current rate of assembly,_ _the Millennium Puzzle will be completed in approximately six-hours."_

"Good," said Kaiba. "And very soon, I'll get my glory."

* * *

A while later, Bakura, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fizzlepop were on their way to Yugi's place for their friendly tournament. Joey was riding his bike and had his disk in the basket.

"I can't tell how much I'm looking forward to dueling Yugi," said Fizzle as she twirled her closed up staff.

"Hey Fizz, what's with the stick?" asked Joey.

"Oh this?" asked Fizzle. "It's just a good luck charm. It was given to me by someone very special."

"Your boyfriend?" asked Rarity.

"N-no!" said Fizzle. "He was more of a mentor to me."

"I like the gem on the end," said Bakura.

"As do I," said Rarity.

"It looks like an antique," said Bakura. "You know, my father was an antiques dealer. He and I traveled all over the world together."

"Wow," said Rainbow. "That's so cool."

"Thanks," said Bakura. "In fact, before we settled down here, we were living over in Egypt."

"You don't say," said Fizzle. "Could you tell me _more_?"

* * *

Over at the game shop, Solomon Muto was going out to do some shopping. "Don't forget to lock up, Yugi!"

"Got it, Grandpa!" called Yugi. He was currently rebuilding his deck. "Now way could I build a deck without my Dark Magician. You've gotten me out of more dueling jams than I can count."

"It's cool," said a voice.

Yugi looked up a saw a little boy with spikey blueish gray hair. It was Grubber.

"That golden box," said Grubber. "It has a kind of glow."

"Sorry. I didn't hear you come in," said Yugi. "But you're right. This box is very special. You see, it's where I keep my most precious dueling cards."

"I see," said Grubber. "But I think you mean cards extra precious to you _and_ the Pharaoh."

"Huh?!" asked Yugi in surprise.

"I know, Yugi," said Grubber. "I know of the Pharaoh because of my master, Shadi Shin. Long ago, Master Shadi bestowed upon myself and some others, a great power. The power of the Plana. It is so strong, that it can remake this entire world it into a beautiful utopia. But if misused, this power could do the opposite." He then used his Plana power to transport himself and Yugi to their gathering place.

"Where are we?" asked Yugi.

"This is the gathering place of the Plana," said Grubber. "We carry on the will of Master Shadi. However, there is now dissension among us, and it could mean trouble for _all_ of mankind. And my sister is already falling victim to her own darkness. I have no one else to turn to than you, Yugi."

"Who are you?" asked Yugi.

"I am Grubber," said the boy. The pyramid of his forehead started to glowed "Destiny has led me to you. So I will entrust you with _my_ destiny." He then teleported Yugi back to the shop.

When Yugi opened his eyes, Grubber was gone. "That was...so strange." He then opened his golden box and saw a fragment of his ancient puzzle. "No way! A piece of the Millennium Puzzle?!"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the space station, the computer had reached a blockade. _"Master Kaiba, it is impossible to reconstruct the Millennium Puzzle any further."_

"There's no such thing as impossible," said Kaiba. "Now finish it!"

" _Negative,"_ said the computer. _"The required pieces needed for assembly are missing."_

"What?" asked Kaiba. He then remembered what Tempest did back in Egypt. "You'll pay for this, Tempest!"

* * *

Back in town, a problem was rising amongst Joey, Bakura and the others.

"I suddenly don't feel well," said Bakura.

"What was that?" asked Joey.

"Are you alright, darling?" asked Rarity.

"Please continue," said Fizzlepop. "You were just telling me, about _Egypt_."

Bakura began sweat. "But… I... don't want to relive that horrible moment. My father had received work that an item he had been searching for his whole life had been found in a place called the Valley of the Kings. So he set off to acquire it. I was a bit worried about this journey, so I secretly followed him. NO! Why am I talking about this?! I don't want to remember what happened that night!"

Joey parked his bike and addressed his friend. "Bakura! What's going on?!"

"Talk to us, buddy!" said Rainbow. But then, she and the others were transported to another place."

"What the?" asked Rarity.

"Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?" asked Rainbow.

"Are we dreaming?" asked Joey.

The glowing children then stepped from behind some trees and approached the group.

"It's more like a nightmare," said Rarity.

"It's neither dream nor nightmare," said Fizzlepop. "What you all are experiencing, is the power of _us_ , the Plana. Our powers are currently transforming your world as we speak."

"Your powers?" asked Joey.

"Whatta you talking about, Fizzle?" asked Rainbow.

"Ahh yes," said Fizzlepop. "I forgot, you two are the slow ones. Well I need both of you gone."

Bakura held his head is pain.

"Just relax, Bakura," said Rarity. "We must help him!"

"We ain't going anywhere!" said Rainbow.

"You and your goons don't scare us done," said Joey. "Bakura, we gotta get out of here!"

"I'll get him to a doctor!" said Rarity.

"Right!" said Joey. "We'll take care of _her_."

"What did you do to him?!" asked Rainbow as she grabbed Fizzlepop's shirt.

"Violence, huh?" asked Fizzle. "That's so typical of your kind."

"Kind?" asked Joey.

"And that's why… you two shall be banished. Just like all the rest!" said Fizzlepop as she extended her staff. The staff's jewel and the pyramid on her forehead glowed intensely. "Prepare to enter a world more suitable for your primitive brains. A dimension that reflects your own feeble souls. And in this place! You two will never leave!"

"That's enough out of you!" yelled Rainbow.

"No kidding!" agreed Joey. But suddenly, the two were frozen solid. "I can't move!"

"Me neither!" said Rainbow.

"Now, Rainbow and Joey!" said Fizzle. "Begone!"

The two where then teleported to another dimension.

* * *

Back at the game shop, the clock had hit 5:00 pm, and Yugi was still waiting. "It's getting late. Where is everyone?"

Tristan, Sunset and Fluttershy suddenly rushed into the store.

"Hi guys," said Yugi.

"Yugi, the tournament's canceled!" said Tristan.

"Why?" asked Yugi.

Sunset then grabbed Yugi's arm. "Come on! Something happened to Rainbow and Joey!"

"Rarity and Bakura are gone too!" added Fluttershy.

"Oh no!" said Yugi. He quickly put the puzzle piece in his pocket and hopped on Tristan's motorcycle. Sunset then hopped in Fluttershy's car and they all raced off to find Tea, Twilight, Pinkie and Applejack.

* * *

Joey and Rainbow opened their eyes and found themselves on a street, with people walking past them.

"Where are we?" asked Joey.

"Beats me," said Rainbow.

They then heard Fizzlepop laughing in the distance. _"What's wrong? You both look so scared."_

"Why you…" said Joey.

"What gives?!" asked Rainbow.

" _You're both trapped in a world made of your own memories,"_ said Fizzle. _"A dimension from which there is no escape."_

"No way," said Joey.

"Yeah, this is defiantly not my type of world," said Rainbow.

" _You two are not making this world,"_ said Fizzle. _"Your memories are. But how much do you both really remember? Do either of you remember your first breath? Your first laugh or step? Can you either of you remember everything you see and hear? Guess not, since this world is so dull!"_

"Knock it off!" said Joey.

"We gotta get outta here!" said Rainbow.

"I know," said Joey. "Come on!" and the two started running.

" _Run as much as you two like,"_ said Fizzle. _"There is literally no escaping this dimension. The power of the Plana is absolute. And none of your memories are powerful enough to stop it! And by the way, once either of you forget something, it will disappear forever!"_

"How long does this road go anyway?!" asked Joey.

"I don't know!" said Rainbow.

" _Not too much longer,"_ answered Fizzle. _"It will end when you two stop resisting your fates!"_

Joey and Rainbow tried to talk to some of the people, but no one responded to them.

" _It's pointless,"_ said Fizzle. _"No one here knows that you two exist. And with each passing moment, I will erase each on your memories one by one. Everything you two have ever known or seen, terminated! And once everything else is gone, you two will vanish as well!"_

Joey and Rainbow just watched as everything around them began to dematerialize.

" _Farewell,"_ whispered Fizzle.

* * *

Everyone soon found Joey's bicycle and disk.

"This is just not like Joey," said Tea. "He'd never abandon his duel disk."

"Totally," said Tristan. "There's no way he'd leave this behind."

"Where do you suppose they are?" asked Twilight.

"I spoke with Joey earlier," said Yugi. "He said he was hanging out with Bakura, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fizzlepop."

"If we find them, we might find him," said Twilight.

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Applejack.

"I don't know," answered Pinkie.

* * *

On another street, Bakura and Rarity were being confronted by Fizzlepop.

"Bakura, you said you didn't want to relive that terrible night in Egypt, right?" asked Fizzlepop. "Well I don't blame you. Because I was there! And believe me when I tell you, it haunts my memories much more than yours!" She then conjured up a flashback of how the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring killed her master.

Bakura and Rarity gasped at what they had seen.

"You killed the only person who cared for me!" yelled Fizzle.

Rarity was speechless. She then took a few steps back.

"Please Fizzle, just listen to me," said Bakura.

"Don't even try it!" said Fizzlepop. "My master will be avenged!"

"I'm really sorry," said Bakura. "But it wasn't my fault. The evil spirit of the Millennium Ring killed your master, not me."

"Liar!" yelled Tempest. "Your _tricks_ won't save you this time!"

"I'm not lying! The ring used to control me, but it no longer does!" said Bakura. He then started to cry. "But still, I'm so sorry…"

Fizzlepop was shocked by his pure tears.

"I know how hard it is to lose someone you care about," said Bakura. "Because I lost someone that day too…"

"I see," said Fizzle.

* * *

Back in the other dimension, Joey and Rainbow were still running. But the world around them was deteriorating fast.

"Hold it!" said Rainbow.

"What is it?" asked Joey as the two stopped.

"I've got an idea!" said Rainbow as she grasped her geode. "Get on my back!"

"Why?!" asked Joey.

"Just do it!" said Rainbow.

"Okay…" said Joey.

Using her super speed, she and Joey dashed down the road.

"Woahhhhh!" cried Joey. "Slow down!"

"No time!" yelled Rainbow.

As Joey held on, he looked around the vanishing dimension. "Man! Why is everything disappearing so fast?!"

"I don't know!" answered Rainbow. "But there's gotta be something we can do to stop it!"

Suddenly, Rainbow lost her footing and fell, causing the two to tumble.

"Ouch," said Joey. "What happened?"

"I don't know… AHH!" cried Rainbow. "My feet! They're vanishing!"

"So are mine!" said Joey. "Quick! Get on _my_ back!"

"Thanks!" said Rainbow.

"It can't end like this!" said Joey as he ran. "It just can't!"

"It won't!" said Rainbow.

* * *

Back on the street, Bakura tried to approach Fizzlepop.

"Fizzle, please forgive me," said Bakura.

"Get back!" said Fizzle. "You ruined my life."

"Yes he did," said a voice from behind. Fizzle turned around and saw her friend. "Capper."

"He ruined all our lives, Tempest," said Capper with an evil look in his eyes. "So do it, destroy him."

"What?" asked Tempest. "Why are you acting different?"

"If you won't, I will," said Capper. He then grabbed Bakura by the shirt. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"Bakura!" gasped Rarity.

"Wait, Capper!" said Tempest. "This isn't like you!"

"Well it is now," said Capper. The Millennium Ring then appeared in his hand.

"What?!" asked Tempest. "Is that the Millennium Ring? But how?"

"I found it at the shrine, right after your duel with Kaiba," said Capper.

"Drop the ring, Capper!" said Tempest. "It has done something to you!"

"But it feels _so_ good!" said Capper. _"No wait! She's right! Master Shadi told us about the evil in this ring."_ He then threw Bakura to the ground. "Tempest, you're right… The ring has infected me… I'm trying to fight it, but I can't!" An immense purple light emitted from the ring.

"Bakura! I'm coming!" said Rarity as she rushed to his side. Using her Geode, she formed a diamond shaped barrier around Bakura and herself. But the purple light then broke through the barricade, sending her and Bakura to an unknown dimension.

Capper cried out as the purple light shined brighter and brighter.

"Capper!" called Tempest. She tried to help her friend, but then something knocked her out.

* * *

When Tempest woke up, she was in a strange desert. She then looked over and saw Capper lying motionless in the sand. "Capper! I'm coming!" She tried to wake him up, but Capper wouldn't respond to anything. "No, Capper. Not you too. Must I lose everyone? First master Shadi, and now you. It's not fair!" Capper then vanished, leaving the Millennium Ring behind. Tempest was about to grab it, when she heard Yugi's voice calling for Joey and Rainbow. She then teleported to the city.

* * *

Back in the city, Yugi, Tristan, and the girls were all looking and calling for their friends.

"Joey!" called Yugi, Tea, and Tristan.

"Rainbow!" called Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack.

"Rarity!" called Sunset and Pinkie.

"Looking for someone?" asked Tempest. "Hello, everyone." The glowing children then appeared behind her.

"Fizzlepop?" asked Sunset.

"What's going on?" asked Tea.

"Fizzlepop, who are you?" asked Yugi.

"There is no Fizzlepop," said Tempest. "That was just a hoax I used to get close to you, Yugi. My true name is Tempest, and we are the Plana."

"Then spill it!" said Tristan.

"Yeah!" said "What did you do with our friends?!"

"I sent them to another dimension," answered Tempest. "A dimension from which there is _no_ return. And you'll all be joining them soon. It's your fate."

"Not if we can stop you!" said Twilight.

"Try all you like," said Tempest. "Nothing can stop us. And once I banish you, Yugi. Nothing ever will."

"Not gonna happen," said Yugi.

"Ya got that right!" said AJ. Using her super strength, she picked up a car.

"What the?!" asked Tempest.

Yugi, Tea, and Tristan's mouths dropped.

"Wait, this is someone else's car, not mine," Applejack realized. So she put the car back down. "Better fine something else."

Pinkie then threw two handfuls of glitter at Tempest's feet, which exploded on contact.

"Ahh!" cried Tempest as she was blown back.

Twilight then grabbed her staff with her magic and levitated over to her hand.

"My staff!" cried Tempest.

"Not so high and mighty now, huh?" asked Twi.

"Where did you get those abilities?" asked Tempest.

"Let's just say you're not the only one with magic," said Sunset.

"It matters not!" said Tempest. She then teleported over to Twilight and took her staff back. "I don't know when you got those powers, but they are nothing compared to my staff!" She then struck the ground with it and the street began to glow around the girls. Their magic was then drained out and sucked into the staff's gem.

"Now our powers are stronger than ever before!" said Tempest. "Thanks for the power boost, girls!"

* * *

Back in the other dimension, Rainbow and Joey were desperately trying to outrun the dissolving world. Eventually the two collapsed from exhaustion.

"I can't go on," said Joey.

"Maybe, this really _is_ it," said Rainbow.

"No more running, or crawling," said Joey as his body faded away.

"Goodbye cruel world," said Rainbow. _"Goodbye, everyone."_

"I'm sorry, Rainbow," said Joey.

"It's okay," said Rainbow.

Suddenly, a flash of golden light shined and Atem stood there looking at Joey and Rainbow.

"No way," said Joey. "It that… it is…"

The golden light consumed the two and teleported them out of that dimension.

* * *

Back in the city, Tempest was about to test out her staff's new powers, when a golden light shot up out the ground. Joey and Rainbow then appeared.

"No way!" said Tempest.

Everyone gasped.

"Are you two okay?" asked Yugi.

"What?" asked Joey. "Hey, it's you guys. We're back."

"And we're okay!" said Rainbow. "Thank, goodness!"

"But, how?!" asked Tempest. "You two should have been long gone by now. You should be nothing!"

"I guess some of our memories are forever!" said Joey.

"Especially the ones of our pals!" added Rainbow.

All their friends smiled.

" _Their friendship withstood the power of the Plana?"_ asked the glowing children. _"How is that possible? Where did Tempest go wrong?"_ The children then vanished.

"That's right!" said Rainbow. "Go back to wherever you all came from!"

"But not you, Fizz!" said Joey. "Not 'till you hand over Bakura and Rarity!"

"This changes nothing!" said Tempest. "You're fates are all still sealed, including Bakura's and Rarity's."

"Oh yeah?" asked Rainbow grabbing her geode. She then ran at Tempest at full speed.

"Huh?!" asked Tempest. She teleported to the top of a nearby building just in the nick of time. "How much magic do you girls have?!"

"More than you know!" said Rainbow.

"Oh well. With your friend's powers, you shouldn't be tough. Till next time," said Tempest as she vanished.

"Wait! Stop!" yelled Joey.

"Dang!" said Rainbow.

"She's gone, Joey," said Yugi. "We'll find Bakura ourselves."

"And Rarity!" said Rainbow.

The girls all rushed over and hugged Rainbow.

"We missed you so much!" said Pinkie.

"Are you okay?" asked Fluttershy.

"Where did she send you?" asked Sunset.

"Did she take your magic?" asked Twilight.

"Woah, girls!" said Applejack. "Let's give her some air."

"Are you okay, Joey?" asked Tea.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Joey.

"Good to hear," said Tristan.

"No kidding," said Yugi.

"Anyway," said Joey. "I just hope Bakura and Rarity are in a place where we _can_ find them."

"Oh we will, believe it," said Rainbow.

It then started to rain.

"Split up!" said Joey.

"Right!" said Tea and Pinkie.

"Let's go!" said Tristan.

Twilight teamed up with Fluttershy, while Rainbow headed off with Applejack.

"I'll go with Sunset!" said Yugi.

"Let's go!' said Sunset.

"Yugi, wait!" called Joey. "I just… wanna say… thank you. That's all!"

"Um, you're welcome, I guess?" asked Yugi.

"Come on!" said Sunset.

* * *

In another part of the city, Tempest was standing on the roof of a building thinking. "I don't understand. The power of the Plana is supposed to be the most powerful force in the universe. And where did those girls get their powers?"

Suddenly, three helicopters surrounded Tempest. Men from KaibaCorp then came down on zip lines, abducted and blindfolded Tempest, and took her staff.

Kaiba then stepped fourth. "Tempest! Did you really think you could get away?"

"I'm surprised you figured it out," said Tempest. "Oh, and this Deprivation Mask is very clever. Now I can't communicate with the Plana."

"That's right," said Kaiba. "Your little glowing goons can sit this one out. Take her away!" Tempest was then boarded into the one of the coppers, then taken to KaibaCorp headquarters. However, Kaiba stayed behind.

* * *

On the other side of the city, Yugi and Sunset were still running around, looking for Bakura and Rarity. After a while, they stopped near a crosswalk to catch their breath.

"My cardio stinks," said Yugi.

"Mine too," said Sunset.

The traffic lights then turned green, but instead of moving, all the cars honked at a person who was standing in the middle of the road. It was Seto.

"Kaiba?" asked Yugi as he ran into the street. "What are you doing here?"

"Good to see you, too," said Kaiba. "Hi, Sunset. Hear you've been a lot of duels lately."

"A few," said Sunset.

"Anyway, I'll be introducing my new duel disk tomorrow," said Kaiba. "And to mark the occasion, I'll be holding a tournament, the likes of which has never been seen. And you'll be taking part in it, Yugi."

"I have bigger issues to deal with!" said Yugi.

Kaiba then revealed the nearly completed puzzle.

"No way!" said Yugi. "The Millennium Puzzle?"

"Yes," said Kaiba. "Most of it, anyway. But you can be sure I'll have it in it's entirely soon enough."

"How did you get it?" asked Yugi.

"That's not important," answered Kaiba. "What is important is that you come to my tournament. And bring the Puzzle piece you have."

Yugi gasped. "But did you know?"

"I know everything that goes on in Domino," said Kaiba.

" _Control freak,"_ whispered Sunset.

"What are you after?" asked Yugi.

"What I've always been after," answered Kaiba. "To show the Pharaoh that I am the greatest. You will wear the Puzzle again and summon him. And I will defeat him!"

"But Kaiba…" began Yugi. He was then cut off by the sound of an approaching helicopter.

"Be honest, Yugi," said Kaiba. "I know you want to see him, too."

Up in the helicopter, Mokuba threw down a rope ladder to his brother. "Hey Yugi! Long time no see! Looking good, Sunset!"

"Thanks!" called Sunset.

"I have Tempest!" said Kaiba as he grabbed onto the ladder. "So long as she has the other piece of the piece of the puzzle, she'll duel in the tournament too. I'll win them back and beat the Pharaoh in front of the whole world! I'll see you tomorrow, Yugi! Hopefully, I'll see you too, Sunset." And the copter took off.

The traffic began to move.

"Yugi!" called Sunset. "Get out of the street!"

Yugi moved out of the way of the cars, but got in the path of a truck.

"Yugi!" cried Sunset.

The truck was just about to hit him, when Grubber appeared and teleported Yugi to safety.

"What the?" asked Yugi seeing as he was back on the sidewalk. "How did I get here? Wait, did you do that, Grubber?"

Grubber nodded.

"Are you okay, Yugi?" asked Sunset.

"Yes," said Yugi. "By the way, this is Grubber. Grubber this is my friend, Sunset."

"Nice to meet you," said Sunset.

"The pleasure is mine," said Grubber.

"Thank you for saving me, Grubber," said Yugi. He then took the piece out of his pocket. "But, I have to know. Why did you give this puzzle piece?"

"I entrusted it with you for one reason," said Grubber. "To save my sister, Tempest."

"Sister?!" asked Yugi and Sunset.

"She has given into fear and anger," said Grubber. "She's going down a dark path. But she wasn't always like this. Our lives have been full of challenges that could darkness almost anyone's heart. Please Yugi, save my sister. She's all I have let. Help her remember who she once was!" He then teleported away.

"Yugi," said Sunset. "Who's this Pharaoh everyone's talking about?"

"It's a long story," said Yugi. "A _really_ long story." And he told Sunset all about the Pharaoh as they continued their search for Bakura and Rarity.

* * *

"Wakey, wakey, Tempest," said Mokuba.

Tempest woke up tied to a chair in a glass prison. "Nice pad."

"I see you're trying to play it cool," said Mokuba. "But you're on my bro's turf now, so you'd better cooperate. First off, we have your staff right here. Second, we've analyzed the gem, and we know you've placed that puzzle piece inside. But, what we don't know is how to get it out."

"Of course not," said Tempest. "That requires _actual_ intellect."

Kaiba was watching the footage from the security cameras in another room.

"Your brother may be good at building duel disks, but when it comes to the Plana, he's clueless," said Tempest. "Even if you did extract the piece, you'd still require the second. And I'm the only one who knows where it is. So maybe you idiots should start cooperating with me."

Mokuba chuckled. "Don't need to. We're two steps ahead. We already know where the second piece is, and it's practically ours."

"You lie!" said Tempest.

"Sometimes I do," said Mokuba. "But not now. Take a look if you don't believe me." He then showed pictures and footage of Grubber giving the puzzle piece to Yugi.

" _Grubber!"_ said Tempest. _"No! How could you do this to me?!"_

* * *

Back in the city, Yugi, Sunset and their friends had been searching for three hours. They soon decided to continue their search tomorrow, after Kaiba's tournament.

* * *

When Sunset got home, she remembered what Yugi had said about the Egyptian King that lived in his puzzle for so long. "I think I better write to Princess Twilight. I bet she, or Starlight have some info about a spell I once read about in the past."


	4. The Beginning

The next day, an enormous crowd had gathered at the Kaiba Land stadium to witness the new duel disk demonstration and tournament. Attending was Tea, Joey, Tristan, Flash Sentry, Timber Spruce, and Spike.

Once everyone was seated, five KaibaCorp jets took off and soared through the sky. A few seconds later, one of the plane's engines suddenly shut down.

"Mayday! Mayday!" cried the pilot. And his jet spiraled toward the ground.

The crowd on the ground began to freak out and run, then suddenly, a Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon broke out of the earth and fired its Neutron Blast at the plane, causing it to explode.

Kaiba's laugh was heard, then he appeared on stage with a mic. "Duelists from around the world, what you're just witnessed is but a taste of the technology possible with my new duel disk!" The explosion and dragon then disappeared, revealing the whole stunt was a hologram.

"What?" asked Joey. "Hey Kaiba! You owe me a new pair of drawers!"

"Hey Joey," said Tea. "Shouldn't you get going?"

"Oh yeah! I'll see you guys after the tournament!" said Joey as he ran toward the stadium.

"Good luck!" called Spike.

"Who said that?" asked Flash.

"Probably one of the other fans," said Timber.

"Oops," said Spike quietly.

"This is the start of a new dueling era!" said Kaiba. "An era where the only limits you will face… is your own imagination! For too long, we been forced to live in this boring reality. It's tedious, poorly designed, and pathetically constructed. If the one who designed it all was under my employ, I'd have him fired. I knew I could do better, and with just a modicum of effort, I have! The time is now, to grab the reigns of the world, and utilize my new duel disk to create a new future where the ordinary can be extraordinary, and the impossible becomes possible! I've never settled for mediocrity and neither should you! And when you wield my duel disk, you'll see I've spared no expenses to give you all, pure tech perfection! So world, this is my gift to you. Now go out and grab it! And when you do, the next time you wonder about who's responsible for the marvels of the universe, you'll have an answer, or better yet, a name! And that name is, Seto Kaiba!"

The crowd cheered like crazy.

"And now! Let the contest begin!" said Kaiba. "Now meet the thirty two competitors I have gathered!" A platform rose up with thirty two duelists standing in the center. The chosen players were Joey Wheeler, Mai Valentine, Rebecca Hawkins, Yugi Moto, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Mrs. Novo, and her daughter Skystar, the five Parrot Pirates, and several others. "I have chosen these players because the stats say they're the best of the best! So now, they will battle until there's only two left! Then one of them will get the chance to battle me for the new grand championship title! Let the duels begin!"

 **Boyle LP: 4000**

 **Rainbow LP: 4000**

 **Turn 1: Boyle**

"I draw, matey!" said Boyle. "I play Pot of Greed, so I can draw two cards. Now I summon Flash Assailant in attack mode! (Flash Assailant ATK: 2000 – 0) Then I place and one card face down. I end me turn."

 **Turn 2: Rainbow**

"Okay, my turn!" said Rainbow. "I play Future Fusion! It lets me send monsters from my deck to the grave, then in two turns, I can summon a fusion monster! But, the monsters I sent were the seven Crystal Beasts. So, I can special summon Rainbow Dragon! Next I play Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins! Then I'll play Crystal Blessing, which lets me bring back two Crystal Beasts, and put them in my spell/trap zone. Then I play Crystal Beacon. Since I have now have two beasts in my spell zone, I can special summon another beast from my deck. So I'll bring out another Sapphire Pegasus, and he lets me put another beast in my spell zone. And I choose another Ruby Carbuncle. Then I'll normal summon another Topaz Tiger! Now he, will attack your little pirate boy!"

"Give it a shot," said Boyle. "I activate Reverse Trap! So now, me Assailant gains 400 for each card in me hand, instead of losing." (Flash Assailant ATK: 0 – 4000)

"I don't think so," said Rainbow. "I activate my field's effect. Since I have three Crystals in my spell zone, I can send my Sapphire Pegasus to the grave and negate the activation of your trap."

"What?!" asked Boyle. (Flash Assailant ATK: 4000 – 0)

"Sorry, matey," said Rainbow. "By Now, Topaz Tiger! Finish your attack!" (Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger ATK: 1600 – 2000)

"Shoot!" said Boyle.

 **Boyle LP: 2000**

 **Rainbow LP: 4000**

"And now," said Rainbow. "My Rainbow Dragon will end this!"

"Ah!" cried Boyle.

 **Boyle LP: 0**

 **Rainbow LP: 4000**

"Oh yeah!" said Rainbow.

"Ay," said Boyle. "Ye have proven ye-self truly superior."

* * *

 **Mullet LP: 4000**

 **Twilight LP: 4000**

 **Turn 1: Twilight**

"I'll go first," said Twi. "I summon Hydrogeddon in attack mode and one card face down. I end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Mullet**

"I draw, lassie," said Mullet. "I play me spell, Double Summon. Now I can call two buccaneers to the field instead of one. Report! Heroic Challenger - Extra Sword and Express Train Trolley Olley! Now I'd be overlaying em to Xyz summon Number 50: Blackship of Corn! But that ain't all, me two materials give my ship 1800 more ATK points." (Number 50: Blackship of Corn ATK: 2100 – 3900) "Then I play Fissure to destroy ye monster, and Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy ye face down."

"Oh no!" gasped Twilight. "There goes my Defense Draw!"

"Now I shall sail right into ye life points," said Mullet. "Attack!"

"Darn!" cried Twi.

 **Mullet LP: 4000**

 **Twilight LP: 100**

"I end me turn with a face down," said Mullet.

 **Turn 3: Twilight**

"My turn," said Twilight. "I summon a monster in defense mode and place three cards face down. You're up."

 **Turn 4: Mullet**

"I draw, land-lover," said Mullet. "I play Stop Defense to reveal ye monster. And no that I have, I can use me monster's effect. By using a unit, I can destroy ye monster and give ya 1000 points of damage."

"Oh no you don't!" said Twi. "I play my trap, Barrel Behind the Door! It reflects your damage right back at you."

"I'll use me own trap," said Mullet. "Seven Tools of the Bandit! I give up a few points, and ye lose the duel."

 **Mullet LP: 3000**

 **Twilight LP: 100**

"Not quite," said Twilight. "I activate Dark Bribe! Now your trap is negated, and you draw a card. So you payed 1000 points for nothing."

"Shiver me timbers!" said Mullet.

 **Mullet LP: 2000**

 **Twilight LP: 100**

"Anything else?" asked Twi.

"Ai," said Mullet. "I play the card ye let me draw, Skull Mariner! Drown the lassie!"

"I activate my trap!" said Twi. "Magic Cylinder! Looks you're the one's sinking."

 **Mullet LP: 400**

 **Twilight LP: 100**

"Ye just got a lucky draw," said Mullet. "I end me turn."

 **Turn 5: Twilight**

"My move," said Twi. "I play the spell, Mind Control! Now I can take control of one of your monsters for one turn."

"But ye can't attack, lassie," said Mullet. "Wait, oh no!"

"That's right," said Twilight. "I don't need to attack, I'm using your monster's effect. I use an overlay unit to sink your Mariner and take the win, or the booty."

"Mutiny!" said Mullet.

 **Mullet LP: 0**

 **Twilight LP: 100**

"It's not mutiny," said Twi. "I just figured, the best way to beat a pirate is to think like one."

"Very impressive, Ms. Sparkle," said Mullet. "Ye win, but I'll be back."

* * *

 **Spittle LP: 4000**

 **Fluttershy LP: 4000**

 **Turn 1: Fluttershy**

"I'll go first," said Fluttershy as she drew. "I summon Overlay Owl in defense mode. That ends my turn."

 **Turn 2: Spittle**

"I draw!" said Spittle. "I summon Photon Pirate! Then I play Cheerful Coffin to send Photon Slasher, Photon Circle and Photon Lizard to a watery grave. Next, I'll banish the Lizard, so I can special summon Ghost Ship in attack mode! Then I'll use my Pirate's effect. By banishing banish the Slasher and Circle, I can power up Photon Pirate by 2000!" (Photon Pirate ATK: 1000 – 3000) "Ghost Ship! Attack her little feathered friend! Photon Pirate, attack the little lassie!"

"Ah!" cried Fluttershy.

 **Spittle LP: 4000**

 **Fluttershy LP: 1000**

"I end me turn," said Spittle. (Photon Pirate ATK: 3000 – 1000)

 **Fluttershy 3: Fluttershy**

"My turn," said Fluttershy. "I play Magical Mallet, so I can return four of the five cards in my hand back to the deck and draw four new ones. Now I summon Rodenut! Then I'll play Enchanted Fitting Room. By paying 800 life points, I can reveal the top four cards of my deck, and if any are level three or lower normal monsters, I can special summon them."

 **Spittle LP: 4000**

 **Fluttershy LP: 200**

"Here goes." (The All-Seeing White Tiger, Silver Fang, Bunilla and Beast Rage) "Alright! I send Beast Rage back to my deck, and I can special summon The All-Seeing White Tiger, Silver Fang, and Bunilla. Now I'll play Big March of Animals! This card increases the ATK points of all my Beast monsters by 200 points for each Beast monster I have on the field. And I have four." (Rodenut ATK: 100 – 900, The All-Seeing White Tiger ATK: 1300 – 2100, Silver Fang ATK: 1200 – 2000, Bunilla ATK: 150 – 950) "Next I'll play Forest, so my little friends get another power bonus." (Rodenut ATK: 900 – 1100, The All-Seeing White Tiger ATK: 2100 – 2300, Silver Fang ATK: 2000 – 2200, Bunilla ATK: 950 – 1150) "Now, because Tigers are endangered, I'll equip him with Beast Fangs, which give him 300 more points." (The All-Seeing White Tiger ATK: 2300 – 2600)

"I better batten down the hatches," said Spittle.

"White Tiger, attack the Ghost Ship!" ordered Fluttershy.

"Me ship!" cried Spittle.

 **Spittle LP: 3300**

 **Fluttershy LP: 200**

"Destroy that pirate, Silver Fang!" said Fluttershy.

"Scallywag," said Spittle.

 **Spittle LP: 2100**

 **Fluttershy LP: 200**

"Okay my little friends, sic em!" said Fluttershy.

"I'm Shark bait!" said Spittle.

 **Spittle LP: 0**

 **Fluttershy LP: 200**

* * *

"Let's duel!" said Rarity.

"Um... okay," said Squabble.

 **Squabble LP: 4000**

 **Rarity LP: 4000**

 **Turn 1: Squabble**

"Um… I think I'll go first," said Squabble. "I'd be playing Double Summon so I can bring out Man-Eating Treasure Chest in attack mode and Yaranzo in defense! I place three cards face down and end me turn, matey."

 **Turn 2: Rarity**

"Very well, I draw!" said Rarity. "I play Brilliant Fusion! Now I can send monsters from my deck to the graveyard to summon a fusion monster. I choose to send Gem Knight Crystal, Sardonyx, and Garnet to bring out Gem Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond! The only drawback is, now her ATK power goes to zero." (Gem Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond ATK: 3400 – 0) "But, by simply discarding a spell (Re-Fusion) from my hand, I can restore her points to normal." (Gem Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond ATK: 0 – 3400) "Then I'll summon Gem Knight Alexandrite in attack mode. Brilliant Diamond, attack his treasure chest!"

"I activate me trap!" said Squabble. "Gravelstorm! It returns a spell/trap card on each field back to shore. I choose my face down Treasure Map and your Fusion spell."

"Not so fast!" said Rarity. "I activate De-Fusion! This separates my knight back into the three warriors I used to fuse her!"

"Oh no," said Squabble. "Um… well, now that my map came back, I can draw two new cards and discard one, so I'll discard me map. But then, I'll play Pharaoh's Treasure! It lets me shuffle it back into me deck. And when I draw it again, I can pick a card from the depths of ocean, and put it back on board."

"I'm afraid you won't get the chance," said Rarity. "Crystal Knight, attack his treasure chest!"

"Arrr!" said Squabble.

 **Squabble LP: 3150**

 **Rarity LP: 4000**

"Knight Sardonyx, attack that creepy skeleton chest!" ordered Rarity. "Knight Garnet, attack him directly!"

"Ahh!" cried Squabble.

 **Squabble LP: 1250**

 **Rarity LP: 4000**

"Now I play Flash Fusion!" said Rarity. "This fuses my knights back together so I can form, Lady Brilliant Diamond once more! Now attack!"

"Man overboard!" cried Squabble.

 **Squabble LP: 0**

 **Rarity LP: 4000**

* * *

 **Celaeno LP: 4000**

 **Sunset LP: 4000**

 **Turn 1: Celaeno**

"Arrr!" said Celaeno. "I draw matey! And I summon Kuribandit! Then I place a card face down. Now I'll activate my bandit's effect. By tributing him, I can pick up five cards, then I select one spell or trap, and add it to my hand. (Message in a Bottle) Now I must send the others to Davy Jones' Locker. (Burglar, Parrot Dragon, Yaranzo, and Citadel Whale) I end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Sunset**

"Okay, I draw!" said Sunset. "I summon Rose, Warrior of Revenge in attack mode! Attack her directly!"

"I play my trap!" said Celaeno. "Hallowed Life Barrier! I discard one card and I'm safe for the whole turn."

"Darn," said Sunset. "I guess I'll just end my turn."

 **Turn 3: Celaeno**

"It's my turn!" said Celaeno. "I play Message in a Bottle. Now I can bring back three monsters with different levels. After that, I must Xyz summon a monster with all three of them or sink to the bottom of the sea. So I'll resurrect Kuribandit, Parrot Dragon, and Citadel Whale. Then I'll summon Fiend Kraken. Now I play Galaxy Queen's Light to raise my monster's levels to that of my whale's." (Kuribandit Level: 3 – 7) (Parrot Dragon Level: 5 – 7) (Fiend Kraken Level: 4 – 7) "Now I overlay them all to Xyz summon CXyz Barian Hope! And he gains 1000 points for each unit he possess." (CXyz Barian Hope ATK 0 – 4000) "Now, attack the little lassie!"

"Dang!" said Sunset.

 **Celaeno LP: 4000**

 **Sunset LP: 1600**

"I end my turn," said Celaeno.

 **Turn 4: Sunset**

"My turn," said Sunset. "Yes! I summon Amazoness Swords Woman in attack mode, then I'll play Riryoku!"

"Arrr!" said Celaeno. "You're planning to weaken my monster, huh?"

"Actually no," answered Sunset.

"What?" asked Celaeno.

"I'm cutting the power of my Swords Woman in half, and adding that amount to your monster," said Sunset. (Amazoness Swords Woman ATK: 1500 – 750) (CXyz Barian Hope ATK: 4000 – 4750)

"Oh no!" said Celaeno.

"That's right," said Sunset. "Now your monster has enough ATK points for me to win this duel."

"I see," said Celaeno. "You truly are superior. Go right ahead and attack."

"Very well," said Sunset. "Attack!"

 **Celaeno LP: 0**

 **Sunset LP: 1600**

* * *

"Let's duel!" said Pinkie and Skystar.

 **Skystar LP: 4000**

 **Pinkie LP: 4000**

"My I go first?" asked Pinkie.

"Of course," said Skystar.

 **Turn 1: Pinkie**

"Here goes," said Pinkie. "I summon Madolche Baaple in defense mode, then place one itsy-bitsy card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Skystar**

"Okay, its like, my turn. So I draw!" said Skystar. "I shall discard Mermail Abyssmegalo, Mermail Abysshilde, and Mermail Abyssgunde to special summon my Mermail Abyssleed! And now, my Abyssgunde lets me special summon a Mermail from my graveyard, so I'll special summon Mermail Abyssmegalo. Plus, my Abysshilde lets me bring out a Mermail from my hand, so I'll bring out Mermail Abyssturge. Finally, I'll normal summon Mermail Abysslung, and he gives every Water monster an extra 300 ATK points." (Mermail Abyssleed ATK: 2700 – 3000, Mermail Abyssmegalo ATK: 2400 – 2700, Mermail Abyssturge ATK: 1700 – 2000, Mermail Abysslung ATK 1200 – 1500) "I'm sorry, I really like you. You seem like a great girl, much better than Shelly and Sheldon. But I wanna win, so I'll attack your Baaple with my Mermail Abyssturge."

"I activate Madolchepalooza!" said Pinkie. This lets me special summon any number of Madolche monsters from my hand, so I'll special summon Madolche Chickolates and Butlerusk in defense mode."

"Alright then," said Skystar. "I'll attack those tasty treats with Mermail Abysslung and Abyssmegalo! Finally, Mermail Abyssleed will gently, attack you directly."

"Oof!" said Pinkie.

 **Skystar LP: 4000**

 **Pinkie LP: 1000**

"But I'm not done yet," said Skystar. "I activate the effect of my Mermail Abyssleed. By tributing a Water monster, I can send one card from your hand to the grave. So I'll send Mermail Abyssturge to the grave."

"There goes my Madolche Magileine!" said Pinkie.

"Okay, that's all," said Skystar.

 **Turn 3: Pinkie**

"Okie dokie Loki," said Pinkie. "Oh yeah! I play Pot of Greed, so get two cards. Surprise! I play Dark Hole!"

"Oh shoot!" said Skystar.

"Now I summon Madolche Hootcake in attack mode," continued Pinkie. "And get this, his ability allows me to banish my Magileine and special summon a new Madolche from my deck. So I'll bring out Madolche Anjelly, then I'll tribute her to summon Madolche Puddingcess. Finally, I play Madolche Chateau, which returns my Anjelly back to my deck. And… it gives all Madolche monsters 500 more points. Plus, when there are no monsters in my grave, my Puddingcess gets 800 more ATK points." (Madolche Hootcake ATK: 1500 – 2000, Madolche Puddingcess ATK: 1000 – 1800 – 2300) "I like you too, but I must attack."

"I see," said Skystar with her head down. "Go ahead."

"Surprise attack!" ordered Pinkie.

 **Skystar LP: 0**

 **Pinkie LP: 1000**

* * *

"Let's duel!" said AJ and Novo.

 **Novo LP: 4000**

 **Applejack LP: 4000**

Novo looked at her cards and smiled. "Why don't you go first?"

 **Turn 1: Applejack**

"Don't mind if I do," said Applejack. "I summon Bull Blader in attack mode! Then I'll play Gaia Power to give him a power boost." (Bull Blader ATK: 1600 – 2100) place two cards face down and end ma turn. With ma Golden Apples and Dark Bribe, she won't have much luck this turn."

 **Turn 2: Novo**

"And now, I draw," said Novo. "I'll discard Mermail Abysslinde, Mermail Abyssnose, Mermail Abysspike, and Mermail Abyssdine to special summon Mermail Abyssbalaen! By the way, if he's successfully summoned this way, he gets 500 extra ATK points. And, I can destroy cards on your field equal to the number of Water monsters that are in my graveyard, and I have four." (Mermail Abyssbalaen ATK: 2500 – 3000)

"There go all ma cards!" cried AJ. "Dog gone it!"

"Next I'll equip my big guy with Abyss-scale of the Mizuchi," continued Novo. "This gives him 800 extra points. Plus, if you play a spell, I can send this card to the grave, and negate its activation." (Mermail Abyssbalaen ATK: 3000 – 3800) "Now, attack her directly!"

"Ah!" cried Applejack.

 **Novo LP: 4000**

 **Applejack LP: 200**

"That ends my turn," said Novo.

 **Turn 3: Applejack**

"And starts mine," said AJ. "I summon Wattpheasant in attack mode! And the best part is, he can attack you directly, so let her have it!"

"Ouch," said novo in an annoyed tone.

 **Novo LP: 3000**

 **Applejack LP: 200**

"Now I place two cards face down and end ma turn," said Applejack.

 **Turn 4: Novo**

"My turn," said Novo.

"Hold it!" said AJ. "I'd like to play a couple of traps. Bad Reaction to Simochi, and Tri-and-Guess! Now we have to count our Fusion monsters, the player with the lower number will lose 3000 life points."

"Oh my!" gasped Novo. "Okay, um… Okay. I have none. But I have two Xyz monsters." (Mermail Abyssgaios and Mermail Abysstrite)

"Sorry," said Applejack. "Not the right type. I have one fusion monster and I guess that's all I need." (Crimson Sunbird) "Guess this duel is all fowled up."

"Very funny," said Novo.

 **Novo LP: 0**

 **Applejack LP: 200**

* * *

"Let's duel!" said Joey and Rebecca.

 **Joey LP: 4000**

 **Rebecca LP: 4000**

"Why don't you go first Joey," said Rebecca. "I'll need to."

 **Turn 1: Joey**

"Don't push it," said Joey. "I summon Axe Raider in attack mode. Then I'll place one card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Rebecca**

"Alright, I draw!" said Rebecca. "I play Tribute to the Doomed. By discarding one card, (Luster Dragon) I can destroy your Axe Raider! Then I'll play Silent Doom so I can special summon the card I discarded, Luster Dragon! Next I play Stamping Destruction to destroy your face down card, plus you lose 500 points."

"Aw man!" said Joey.

 **Joey LP: 3500**

 **Rebecca LP: 4000**

"Now I play Dragon's Gunfire!" said Rebecca. "This will inflict 800 points of damage to you."

"Say what?!" asked Joey.

 **Joey LP: 2700**

 **Rebecca LP: 4000**

"And now, I'll tribute my Luster Dragon to summon Luster Dragon #2!" said Rebecca. "Now, attack him directly!"

"Ouch!" said Joey.

 **Joey LP: 300**

 **Rebecca LP: 4000**

"I end my turn," said Rebecca. "Alright, Joey. Let's see if that luck of your is as good as everyone says it is."

 **Turn 3: Joey**

"It's not just luck!" yelled Joey. "But it never hurt. Alright! I play Red-Eyes Transmigration, and I'll tribute Gilford the Lightning to ritual summon Lord of the Red! Now I play Graceful Dice! You know, the higher I roll, the stronger my monster gets." So he rolled. "What?! Just a one?!" (Lord of the Red ATK: 2400 – 2500)

"Guess you're not as lucky as everyone thought," said Rebecca.

"Oh yeah?" asked Joey. "You haven't seen my monster's effect. When an effect happens, I can destroy your dragon!"

"Oh great," said Rebecca.

"Now I normal summon my Blue Flame Swordsman!" said Joey. "Now look who's unlucky? Attack!"

"No!" cried Rebecca.

 **Joey LP: 300**

 **Rebecca LP: 0**

"I can't believe he actually beat me," said Rebecca. "Guess he really is the ultimate underdog."

"I heard that!" yelled Joey.

* * *

Mai Valentine stood in front her next opponent, Rafael.

"Wow," said Mai. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Me neither," said Rafael. "Hey, I'm really sorry about our last encounter. But believe me, all that it over, forever."

"Well, you're not the only one made a bad choice," said Mai.

Rafael looked down. "So… are we…"

"Are you kidding?" asked Mai. "I'd never back out of a rematch."

"Good to hear," said Rafael.

"Let's duel!" said the two.

 **Rafael LP: 4000**

 **Mai LP: 4000**

 **Turn 1: Rafael**

"Since I won last time, I'll go first," said Rafael. "Since I have no monsters in my graveyard, I can special summon Guardian Eatos!"

"Not her again," thought Mai.

"Now I place two cards face down," continued Rafael. "Then I'll play Morale Boost! Now, every time one of us plays an equip card, we'll gain 1000 life points. Now I'll equip Eatos with Gravity Axe – Grarl!" (Guardian Eatos ATK: 2500 – 3000)

 **Rafael LP: 5000**

 **Mai LP: 4000**

"Nice combo," said Mai.

"Thanks," said Rafael. "Now that this is only card left in my hand, I can special summon Guardian Grarl! That's all for now."

 **Turn 2: Mai**

"Finally, my turn!" said Mai. "I play Graceful Charity, so I draw three and discard two." (Harpie Lady and Amazoness Archers) "Now I play Harpie's Feather Duster to destroy your face downs!"

"No!" thought Rafael. "There goes My Body as a Shield and Shrink!"

"Next, I summon the one, the only, Cyber Harpie Lady!" continued Mai. "Then I play Monster Reborn to bring back my original Harpie Lady! Next, is Elegant Egotist! Which lets me bring out another Harpie Lady from my hand. Now I play, Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation!"

"Oh no!" said Rafael.

"I see you remember this card," said Mai. "If I have three or more Harpie Ladies, I can destroy all your monsters and you lose life points equal to the one with the original highest points. I choose Guardian Eatos!"

"Crud!" said Rafael.

 **Rafael LP: 2500**

 **Mai LP: 4000**

"I end my turn," said Mai.

 **Turn 3: Rafael**

"Too bad I didn't have Guardian Dreadscythe in my hand," said Rafael. "Oh well, I guess this will do. I play the Swords of Revealing Light! So I'm safe for three turns."

 **Turn 4: Mai**

"Not quite," said Mai. "I play De-Spell!"

"Oh shoot!" said Rafael.

" _I've been waiting for this,"_ thought Mai. "Now my Harpies, attack him directly and end this duel!"

" _I think I deserve this,"_ thought Rafael.

 **Rafael LP: 0**

 **Mai LP: 4000**

* * *

A few dozen duels later, only six players remained. Joey, Mai, Yugi, Twilight, Rainbow, Sunset.

Kaiba was watching everyone on screen from inside the stadium's control center. "Excellent. Okay, Tempest. It's finally time for us to step in."

Tempest was still in her glass prison, but said nothing.


	5. Elimination Rounds

Before the finals, Songbird Serenade sang her new song, Rainbow for the crowd and duelists.

"Attention all duelists!" said Kaiba. "Now that we've been narrowed down to our top six, I think it's time I started participating in this contest, just to see if these duelists really are as good as they say!"

The crowd cheered.

"Plus, I have a special guest joining us," added Kaiba. "Her name is Tempest Shadow, and because of her _superb_ dueling skills, I invited her to join. Now that our elite eight have been confirmed, it's time to start the semi-finals! Are you all ready?!"

The crowd roared its response.

"Then let's get it on!" said Kaiba. "The first battle will be Twilight Sparkle vs Tempest Shadow! Begin!"

"Tempest," said Twi. "I see why you're doing this, but if you really want harmony in the world, the best way is to make peace with your inner demons and just let it all go."

"Sorry," said Tempest. "The scars of my past sting too much."

Twilight sighed. "Very well then, let's duel!"

Tempest nodded as she took her deck out of the powerless Quantum Cube. _"Just because the power of the Cube maybe inside my staff, I'll never get rid of this cube. It's the only thing I have left of master Shadi."_

 **Twilight LP: 4000**

 **Tempest LP: 4000**

 **Turn 1: Twilight**

"I'll go first," said Twi. "I play Painful Choice, so I choose five and you take your pick." (Wheel of Prophecy, High Priestess of Prophecy, Emperor of Prophecy, Dian Keto the Cure Master, and Spellbook of Life)

"I think I'll choose your Cure Master," said Tempest.

"Got it," said Twi. "Now I play Soul Charge to bring back my Wheel of Prophecy, High Priestess of Prophecy, and Emperor of Prophecy!"

"You realize you just lost most of your life points, right?" asked Tempest.

 **Twilight LP: 1000**

 **Tempest LP: 4000**

"Of course," answered Twilight. "Now I play Supremacy Berry and Dian Keto the Cure Master to get back all those points."

 **Twilight LP: 4000**

 **Tempest LP: 4000**

"Oh," said Tempest.

"Now I summon the Strength of Prophecy, and play Spellbook Organization to rearrange my top three cards," said Twilight. "Then I'll remove my Spellbook to increase my Strength's power." (Strength of Prophecy ATK: 1500 – 2000/ Level: 4 – 5) "And now, I overlay my Strength and Emperor of Prophecy to Xyz summon Empress of Prophecy! Then I'll overlay my Wheel and High Priestess of Prophecy to Xyz summon Hierophant of Prophecy!"

"Impressive," said Tempest.

"Thanks," said Twilight. "I'll end with a face down. _Now I can destroy her monsters, spells and traps. Plus, I have my face down Spellbook of Wisdom to protect my Spellcasters."_

 **Turn 2: Tempest**

"My turn," said Tempest as she drew. "I play Double Summon, so now I can summon Reptilianne Scylla, then tribute it to summon Reptilianne Medusa! And by discarding a card, (Reptilianne Medusa) I can reduce your monster's ATK power becomes 0." (Hierophant of Prophecy ATK: 2800 – 0) Twilight's monster was then petrified.

"What the?!" asked Twi. "She's been turned to stone!"

"Just like the real Medusa," said Tempest. "Now I play Monster Reborn to bring back the Medusa I just discarded. Then I'll discard another card to reduce your Empress's power to 0." (Empress of Prophecy ATK: 2000 – 0)

"No…" breathed Twi.

"Farewell," said Tempest as she activated her staff. "Reptilianne Medusas, attack!"

"Ah!" cried Twilight.

 **Twilight LP: 0**

 **Tempest LP: 4000**

Twilight was then sent to the disintegrating dimension, along with Rarity and Bakura.

"NO!" cried Sunset, Timber, and the others. The crowd clapped, thinking it was all a hologram show.

" _Clap while you can, you simpletons,"_ thought Tempest. _"For you all will vanish eventually."_

"Seto!" called Mokuba. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let Tempest duel. She could hurt someone!"

"Don't worry," said Kaiba. "I'm positive that once the Pharaoh returns, he'll undo all the damaged Tempest has done."

"Are you sure certain?" asked Mokuba.

"Absolutely," answered Kaiba. "Or who knows? Maybe those girls can fix everything with their _magic of friendship_ or something."

"I hope so," said Mokuba.

"This is insane!" yelled Timber.

"No kidding!" added Flash.

"What did she ever do to that Tempest girl?!" asked Timber. "Where did she sent Twilight?!"

"Same place where she sent Rarity and Bakura," said Rainbow. "Plus me and Joey."

"Don't worry, guys," said Tea. "Yugi will get them back. I guarantee it."

"Are you sure?!" asked Timber.

"No one could do it better," said Joey.

"You bet," added Tristan.

"Or Sunset," said Pinkie.

"Now the next battle shall begin!" said Kaiba over the mic. "Rainbow Dash vs Sunset Shimmer!"

"Let's duel!" said Rainbow and Sunset.

 **Sunset LP: 4000**

 **Rainbow LP: 4000**

"Yeah!" cheered Rainbow's parents.

"Go, Rainbow! Go, Rainbow!" said Windy.

"Yeah, Rainbow Dash! You show 'em!" called Bow.

" _Oh man,"_ said Rainbow.

"Wow," said Sunset. "Your parents are really supportive."

" _Yeah,"_ said Rainbow.

"You go ahead, Rainbow," said Sunset.

 **Turn 1: Rainbow**

"Thanks," said Rainbow. "I'll send my Dotscaper to the grave, so I can special summon Quickdraw Synchron! Plus, whenever my Dotscaper is sent packing, he can special summon himself back to the field. Now I'll tune them together to synchro summon Junk Gardna! Then I'll summon Junk Synchron, and his effect lets me summon back Dotscaper. Next, I'll tune them together to synchro summon Armory Arm! Ready for a new move? I play Lightwave Tuning, it lets me treat a level four monster as a tuner, like my Armory Arm! Now I can tune it together with my Gardna and synchro summon Stardust Warrior!"

"Wow," said Sunset in awe.

"Greatest duelist ever!" said Bow.

Rainbow put her hand on her forehead. "I place two cards face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Sunset**

"Okay, my turn!" said Sunset. "I play Offerings to the Doomed to destroy your Stardust Warrior!"

"Thanks," said Rainbow.

"Huh?" asked Sunset.

"Now I can special summon a new Warrior, thanks to my Stardust Warrior's effect!" explained Rainbow. "First, I'll bring out a new guy, Road Warrior! Then I'll activate, Shadow Impulse! Since one of my synchro monsters was destroyed, I can special summon another synchro monster with the same type and level! So I'll summon, Flower Cardian Lightflare!"

"5000 ATK points?!" asked Sunset.

"Yep," answered Rainbow. "Finally, I activate Stardust Flash! This lets me bring back my Stardust Warrior!"

Sunset's mouth dropped, and the crowd cheered.

"Three monsters for the price of one," said Rainbow. "How do ya like _them_ apples?"

"Wow," said Sunset.

"Not bad at all," said Seto.

"No kidding," said Mokuba.

"Good thing I saved this," said Sunset. "Raigeki!"

"I don't think so," said Rainbow. "Once during either player's turn, my Lightflare can negate a spell or trap card's activation."

"Darn," said Sunset. "Guess I'll just play Greed Grado, since I destroyed a Synchro monster, I can draw two cards. Cool, I know your Stardust Warrior has some other effects, so I'll discard Effect Veiler to negate all of them."

"Big deal," said Rainbow. "I still have him, and my other two monsters."

"Not for long," said Sunset. "Now since you have a Synchro monster on the field, I can special summon Synkron Resonator from my hand. Then I'll summon Vice Berserker. Now I'll tune them together to Synchro summon Stygian Sergeants! And thanks to my Berserker, my Sergeants gain 2000 extra ATK points." (Stygian Sergeants ATK: 2200 – 4200)

"But you also lose 2000 life points," reminded Rainbow.

"Not this time," said Sunset. "I activate Spell of Pain, which lets me redirect the damage to you."

"What?!" asked Rainbow.

 **Sunset LP: 4000**

 **Rainbow LP: 2000**

"Stygian Sergeants, attack him her Road Warrior!" ordered Sunset.

"Shoot!" said Rainbow.

 **Sunset LP: 4000**

 **Rainbow LP: 800**

"And now my Sergeant's effect activates!" said Sunset. "They gain 800 ATK points, _and_ they get to attack again."

"No way!" said Rainbow.

"Sorry, but yes way," said Sunset. "Sorry, Rainbow. But I need to take down that freak."

"I understand," said Rainbow.

"Thanks," said Sunset. "Attack her Stardust Warrior! _And I promise I will bring back Twilight and the others, or go down trying."_

 **Sunset LP: 4000**

 **Rainbow LP: 0**

"Wow, she's good," said Joey.

"Of course she is," said Flash.

"The next duel will be Yugi Moto vs Joey Wheeler!" said Kaiba.

"You ready for this Yug?" asked Joey.

"You bet," said Yugi.

"Then let's duel!" said Joey.

 **Yugi LP: 4000**

 **Joey LP: 4000**

 **Turn 1: Yugi**

" _Okay, Joey. Let's see how far you've come,"_ thought Yugi. "I summon Celtic Guard of Noble Arms in attack mode! Then I'll use his ability to special summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in defense mode. I place one card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Joey**

"Alright, let's do this!" said Joey. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode. Then I'll activate Release Restraint, so I can tribute my iron knight and special summon Gearfried the Swordmaster! Then I'll play Dark Dragon Ritual, I sacrifice my Panther Warrior to ritual summon Paladin of Dark Dragon! Then I'll tribute him to special summon my pal, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"Now that's a front line," said Tea.

"When did Joey get so good?" asked Tristan.

"It took you this long to notice?" asked Applejack.

"We've seen him duel," said Sunset. "He's no pushover."

" _Jerk,"_ whispered Fluttershy.

"Now I'll equip my Swordmaster with the Lightning Blade!" continued Joey. "This gives 8000 points, and the ability to destroy your obnoxious guardian!" (Gearfried the Swordmaster ATK: 2600 – 3400)

"Oh boy," said Yugi.

"Red Eyes, attack his Celtic Guard!" ordered Joey.

"Dang," said Yugi.

 **Yugi LP: 3700**

 **Joey LP: 4000**

"Gearfried, attack him directly!" ordered Joey.

 **Yugi LP: 300**

 **Joey LP: 4000**

"I activate my trap!" cried Yugi. "Dark Horizon! Now I can special summon a Dark Spellcaster from my deck with ATK power that's less than, or equal to the damage I just took. I choose, Dark Magician Girl!"

"I was expecting the Dark Magician, but whatever. I end my turn," said Joey. " _Sorry Yug_. _I just wanted to show everyone what I could do."_

 **Turn 3: Yugi**

"Alright, my turn!" said Yugi. "I play Magical Contract Door! Here's how it works, I give a spell card to you, then I can add a level seven or eight Dark monster to my hand, so _now_ I'll add my Dark Magician! And you can have my Dark Magic Veil. Next, I play Ancient Rules! It lets special summon a level five or higher normal monster, like my Dark Magician! Then I'll tribute my two magicians to summon Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition!"

"Woah," said Joey. "Didn't see that coming."

"Now I activate my dragon's ability," said Yugi. "I can destroy all your monsters, then inflict damage to you, equal to the monster with the highest original ATK power, then my dragon gains that many ATK points. Like your Swordmaster."

"Say what?!" asked Joey. (Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition ATK: 0 – 2600)

 **Yugi LP: 300**

 **Joey LP: 1400**

" _I'm so sorry, Joey,"_ thought Yugi.

" _Don't be Yug,"_ thought Joey. _"Our friend's lives are at stake."_

Yugi smiled. _"You did very well. You'll make a great pro duelist."_

" _Thanks, pal,"_ thought Joey.

"Now Gandora, attack him directly!" ordered Yugi.

Joey closed his eyes as the attack hit.

 **Yugi LP: 300**

 **Joey LP: 0**

"That was so hard to watch," said Pinkie.

"You said it," said Tea. _"Reminds of Duelist Kingdom. But once again, they never forgot their bond."_

"The next duel will be Mai Valentine vs my big bro, Seto Kaiba!" said Mokuba over the mic.

"Wait! What?!" asked Joey. "Mai's here?!"

"Let's duel!" said Mai and Kaiba.

 **Mai LP: 4000**

 **Kaiba LP: 4000**

 **Turn 1: Mai**

"Ladies first," said Mai. "I summon Cyber Harpie Lady in attack mode! Then I'll play Elegant Egotist so I can special summon the Harpie Lady Sisters! But why stop there? When I can play another Elegant Egotist and special summon another Cyber Harpie Lady! Next, I'll equip her with Cyber Shield, increasing her ATK points by 500." (Cyber Harpie Lady ATK: 1800 – 2300) "Finally, I'll place two cards face down and end my turn. _He'll never get past my Mirror Wall. And my Harpie's Feather Storm will take care of any troubling monster effects. Plus, if he destroys my Feather Storm, I can add Harpie's Feather Duster to my hand for next turn. It's perfect!"_

 **Turn 2: Kaiba**

"To start my turn, I play Pot of Greed," said Kaiba. "Next I play Heavy Strom, which destroys all spells and traps on the field."

"You just destroyed my Harpie's Feather Storm," said Mai. "Now I can add Harpie's Feather Duster to my hand."

"So what?" asked Kaiba. "Now I activate Polymerization to fuse my three Blue Eyes together to form Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Then I'll play Chaos Form! This lets me banish one of the Blue Eyes in my graveyard, and ritual summon Blue-Eyes Chaos Max Dragon!"

"Oh no," said Mai in a fearful tone.

"Blue Eyes max Dragon, attack her weaker Cyber Harpie!" ordered Kaiba.

Mai cringed.

 **Mai LP: 1800**

 **Kaiba LP: 4000**

"And now, my Neo Dragon will finish you off," said Kaiba. "Attack her Harpie Sisters!"

"No!" cried Mai.

 **Mai LP: 0**

 **Kaiba LP: 4000**

"And that's it!" said Mokuba. "The four finalists are Yugi Moto! Tempest Shadow! Sunset Shimmer! And of course, Seto Kaiba!"

As soon as the duel was over, Joey walked over to Mai. "Mai… is that really you?"

Mai looked away. "Yeah, but I gotta go. I lost, so there's no point in staying any longer."

"Mai, wait!" called Joey.

"Sorry… I can't!" said Mai as she started to run.

"Let her go," said Tristan. "After what she put us through with those Orichalcos freaks, I wouldn't call her a friend."

Joey then punched Tristan in the gut, face, and kneed him in the crotch. "Never say that about Mai! Ever!"

"Tristan!" said Tea. "How can you say that?! It wasn't all her fault!"

Applejack and Rainbow then each hit Tristan.

"Told you he was a jerk," said Fluttershy.

"Total meanie," said Pinkie.

Joey then took off after Mai. He found her in the parking lot getting into her car. "Mai! Please just wait a second!"

"Sorry," said Mai. "I just can't look at you yet."

Before she could put her key in the ignition, Joey grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me," said Mai.

"Not til you listen to me," replied Joey.

"I said let go of me, now!" demanded Mai.

"Please, just talk to me, Mai!" said Joey.

"You freak!" said Mai. She tried to punch Joey in the face with her other arm, but he pushed it away and hugged her."

"Mai, please," said Joey. "I've missed you so much, and I was so worried when I couldn't find you after all that happened on Dartz's island. I'm just, so glad to see you're back to normal."

A tear fell down Mai's face. "I can't look at you. I don't dare."

"Whatta mean?" asked Joey.

"I just don't get it," said Mai. "How? How can just forget everything I did so easily? I tried to kill you! And you still want me as a friend?!"

"More than anything," said Joey.

Mai blushed. "How forgivable can one person be?"

"Not just me," said Joey. "We all want ya back. Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Bakura, the girls. Even Serenity."

"No," breathed Mai. "She shouldn't have like me around. I just wanted nothing but power, I didn't care about anything or anyone else. This is prove I shouldn't…"

"Mai!" said Joey cutting her off. "Do you remember when I feeling down at Battle City? Remember how you reminded me of the courage I showed at Duelist Kingdom? Well that's what you showed afterwards."

"What?" asked Mai.

"I heard from Yugi that you went after Dartz after you were released," said Joey. "He said you even took my dragon card, and tried to defeat Rafael with all your might. See? If you were really an evil person, you wouldn't have tried to make up for what you did. _Just_ like how I tried to make up for Marik brainwashed and tried to turn me against my best friend. That proves you still have a good heart."

Mai began to tear up. "You really do have a big mouth. But an even bigger heart." She then wrapped her arms around Joey and hugged him with all her might. "Just like when you got rid of the darkness in my soul, you destroyed the doubt and sorrow in my heart. Thank you, for never giving up on me, and always being there to heal me. You're the first, and only person who's ever really cared about me this much."

Joey blushed. "You're welcome, Mai. I… I… don't really know what else to say…"

"Then don't say anything," said Mai. She then kissed him on the lips.

Tristan, Yugi, Tea, and the girls were watching from afar.

"How in the world did a doofus like Joey ever a girl, and I still haven't?!" asked Tristan.

"Cause you're freak," said Applejack.

"And a creep," said Pinkie.

"And a meanie," said Fluttershy.

" _And ugly,"_ said Rainbow silently.

Everyone laughed.

"What's so funny?" asked Tristan.

No one answered.


	6. Who is Truely the Evil One?

After Joey and Mai were _finished_ , they came back to watch the other duels.

"Man," said Tristan. "This is gonna be the duel of Yugi's life."

"And Sunset's too," said Fluttershy.

"I just hope they're ready," said Applejack.

"Of course they are!" said Pinkie.

"Yeah," added Joey. "They know this might be the only to get our friends back."

"Nothing will stop em," added Mai.

Yugi then shot a text to Tea on her phone saying that he promised to rescue Bakura, Rarity, and Twilight.

" _I know you will."_ Thought Tea.

"Alright!" said Kaiba over the mic. "Time for the moment we've all been waiting for. Duelists! Rise up!" Yugi, Tempest, and Sunset were then elevated onto the center field. "These three duelists made all the way to the finals! So they should give a little bit of a fight, before I crush them all completely!"

Yugi held up the golden box that housed his puzzle piece. While Tempest had her piece inside the gem of her closed up staff.

"Yugi!" said Kaiba. "You brought the puzzle piece, correct?"

"Of course," answered Yugi as he took it out of the box.

Tempest gasped. "Yugi!"

Grubber then appeared before Tempest in spirit form, so only she could see him.

"Sister, I'm sorry," said Grubber. "I just couldn't tell you that I gave the piece away."

"It's okay," said Tempest. "But why?"

"I had to," said Grubber. "Can't you see what you're doing is wrong?"

"I can see perfectly," replied Tempest. "I'm just sad that you have turned a blind eye to what happened to our master."

"How could I ever?" asked Grubber. "But…"

"Believe me!" said Tempest. "This _must_ be done!" Grubber then vanished.

"Now let's get started!" said Kaiba. "The first duel, will be me against Tempest!"

"Wait, Kaiba!" said Yugi. "I'm going to duel her! She and I have a score to settle!"

"We sure do," said Tempest.

"No!" said Sunset. "Let me duel her, please!"

"This is my tournament, Yugi," said Kaiba. "I call the shots!"

"Not this time!" said Sunset.

"Sunset and I have friends in danger, and beating Tempest may be the way of saving them!" said Yugi. "You know me, Kaiba. I'll do anything for a friend. So back off! Or we're gonna have a problem!?"

"Woah," said Rainbow. "That's so awesome."

"A threat?" asked Kaiba.

"Sure, why not?" asked Yugi. "Now what's it's gonna be, Kaiba?!"

"Yeah Yugi," said Tea.

"Very well then," said Kaiba. "I'll grant you this _one_ favor."

"Then let's go," said Yugi.

"Wait!" said Sunset. "Yugi, they're my friends too. I have to get them back, please let _me_ duel her!"

"Don't worry," said Yugi. "No matter what, I'm going to get _all_ of our friends back. Trust me, nothing is gonna stop me, especially not _her_!"

Tempest scowled.

"You better swear to me," said Sunset.

"I swear," said Yugi. "And I _mean_ it."

"Okay…" said Sunset. "Please get them back, they mean the world to me."

"I know just how you feel," said Yugi.

"Well, Yugi," said Tempest. "This was a long time coming, but we can finally have our duel."

"Listen Tempest," said Yugi. "Your brother is really worried about you. Besides this is between you and me. Can't you just release our friends?"

"Never," answered Tempest.

"Then you leave me no choice," said Yugi.

"Yugi!" called Kaiba. He then threw Yugi one of the new disks. "You're gonna need it."

"Thank you," said Yugi after catching it.

"Whatever," said Kaiba. "By the way, just to make it more interesting, we'll battle with 8000 life points from now on!"

The crowd cheered.

"Now, yet the battle commence!" said Kaiba.

"Let's duel!" said Yugi

"Yes… let's!" said Tempest as she took out her staff. "But first, let us go to the realm of dimensions!"

A pink light spread throughout the entire stadium, and the disintegrating realm appeared in the sky again.

"Don't get me wrong," said Tea. "I like pink, but dang."

"I know," said Pinkie. She then looked up and gasped. "Look!"

"Woah!" said Tea, Fluttershy, and Applejack.

"I remember this," said Joey.

"I wish I didn't," said Rainbow.

Grubber and the other Plana children appeared at the top of the stadium and looked down at the players.

"Please, save my sister Yugi," said Grubber. "She may not be a blood related sibling, but she's all I have now."

 **Yugi LP: 8000**

 **Tempest LP: 8000**

 **Turn 1: Tempest**

"I hope you really are as good as they say!" said Tempest. "Because, in this match, any mistake will cost you! I set a monster, and place three cards face down. I end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Yugi**

"Then it's mine!" said Yugi as he drew. "I summon Gold Gadget in attack mode! And when he's summoned, I can special summon another level four Machine monster. So I'll summon, Silver Gadget! Gold Gadget, attack her face down monster!"

"Thanks," said Tempest.

"Huh?" asked Yugi.

"You attacked my Reptilianne Naga," said Tempest. "Whenever she's attacked, the monster that attacked her is first turned to obsidian, then its ATK points are reduced to zero."

"What?!" asked Yugi as his monster was petrified. (Gold Gadget ATK: 1700 – 0)

"The upside is, now my monster will forever remain in attack mode," explained Tempest.

"Okay," said Yugi. "I guess I'll end my turn…"

"Not so fast!" said Tempest. "I activate Rear-Guard Action! I can only activate this trap when you're about to end your turn, now I can force the monster on your side with the weakest ATK points to battle with a monster on my side. Like my Naga!"

"No way," said Yugi.

"But before I do, I will activate another trap," continued Tempest. "Spirit Barrier! Now I won't lose any life points when your Gadget attacks."

"I don't think so!" said Yugi. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon! And I'll use it to destroy your Barrier!"

"Oh well," said Tempest. "What's a few points?"

 **Yugi LP: 8000**

 **Tempest LP: 6500**

" _Now_ , I end my turn," said Yugi.

 **Turn 3: Tempest**

"Very well," said Tempest. "I summon Reptilianne Scylla in attack mode! You'll love _her_ effect. Whenever she destroys a monster with zero ATK points, I can special summon that monster to my side of the field, in defense mode."

"So that was your plan!" assumed Yugi. "To steal my monsters!"

"Not just that," said Tempest. "I activate Final Attack Orders! Now any monster appears on the field will be switched to attack mode!"

"Oh no!" gasped Yugi.

"Oh yes!" said Tempest. "But I'm still not done! I activate the spell, Double Attack! All I have to do is discard my Reptilianne Medusa, and my Scylla can attack twice!"

"No way!" said Yugi.

"Prepare yourself! Vessel of the Pharaoh!" said Tempest. "Reptilianne Scylla, attack both of his Gadgets!"

"Shoot!" said Yugi.

 **Yugi LP: 4400**

 **Tempest LP: 6500**

"Now they become mine!" said Tempest. "And thanks to my trap, they can attack you directly!"

"Ah!" cried Yugi.

 **Yugi LP: 1200**

 **Tempest LP: 6500**

"I can't watch," said Tristan.

"Shut up!" said Rainbow.

"Fight, Yugi!" yelled Joey.

"Ignore your friends," said Tempest. "The sensible thing to do is give up."

 **Turn 4: Yugi**

"Then I guess I don't have a lot of sense," said Yugi. "I play Pot of Greed, so I can draw two cards. Now, since you're the only one with monsters, I can special summon Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight! Then I'll play Dark Magic Veil! It lets me pay 1000 life points, then I can special summon a Dark Spellcaster from my hand! So I'll choose my favorite, the Dark Magician!"

 **Yugi LP: 200**

 **Tempest LP: 6500**

"Finally, I'll summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts!" said Yugi. "And now, all my monsters will battle with your Reptilianne Naga! Attack!"

Tempest braced herself. (Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight ATK: 2300 – 0) (Dark Magician ATK: 2500 – 0) (Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts ATK: 1500 – 0)

 **Yugi LP: 200**

 **Tempest LP: 200**

"I'll never quit!" said Yugi. "Not when I've got friends on the line! I end with a face down!"

"Friendship?" asked Tempest. "Yeah right. The only thing your kind knows is cruelty. That's why you must be banished! Defeating you is the only for the Plana to succeed! Then we can create a better world, one with hate or violence. Can you imagine such a place? A place where people are no longer used? Maybe _you_ can, Yugi. Maybe you and the girls are the exceptions. If you all join us, then together, we can recreate this corrupt world into a pure one."

"I'll never, scratch that, we'll never join you!" said Yugi.

"What?" asked Tempest.

"You say we feel nothing but hate," said Yugi. "But from what I've seen, that's all that drives you. So how could you create a world without it?!"

Tempest tighten her fists. "You don't know what you're talking about. You haven't seen what I have, or what I've been through. But maybe once I show you, you'll understand." Using the cube's power inside her staff, she showed Yugi the time she spent with the abusive man, Storm. Then when Shadi freed her, her brother and the others, and how Shadi was killed.

 **Turn 5: Tempest**

"Master Shadi saved us all, and it won't be for nothing!" said Tempest. "I'll do whatever it takes for the Plana to survive! And no one's gonna stop me! I equip my Reptilianne Scylla with United We Stand! Now she gains 800 extra ATK points for each one of my four monsters." (Reptilianne Scylla ATK: 1800 – 5000)

"5000 ATK points?!" asked Yugi.

"You're finished Yugi!" said Tempest. "And so is Kaiba's plan to resurrect the Pharaoh! Scylla! Destroy the vessel!"

"I activate my trap!" said Yugi. "Dimension Sphinx! Whenever you attack me with a monster that has higher points than mine, you then take damage equal to the difference in our monster's ATK power!"

"WHAT?!" cried Tempest. "You were setting me up!"

"Tempest, I understand that you fight for a cause that you believe is noble," said Yugi. "But when you fight using hatred to obtain peace, you've already lost. This is what always happens when you give into fear and anger. You end up destroying yourself. Now, for the sake of my friends, and all of us! I'm ending this!"

"Aaahhhh!" cried Tempest.

 **Yugi LP: 200**

 **Tempest LP: 0**

She then fell to her knees, and the dark dimension disappeared.

The whole crowd cheered.

"He won!" cheered Tea, Joey, Tristan, and the girls.

"Awesome!" said Flash, Timber and Spike.

"I'm so sorry, master Shadi," said Tempest. "I failed you." She then fell on her back and melted into the ground, leaving only the puzzle piece she had stored in her staff.

"Tempest lost," said one of the Plana children.

"The Pharaoh will resurrect," said another. "What will become of us?"

"Stay calm," said Grubber. "The fate of our future rests in the hands of either Yugi or Sunset."

"Man, that was a close one, huh Seto?" asked Mokuba.

Kaiba said nothing.

"Okay," said Tea. "Yugi won. So where's Bakura and Rarity?"

"And Twilight?!" asked Timber and the girls.

A bright light shot up from the ground a short distance from the two groups.

"What is that?" asked Rainbow.

"What's that light?" asked Pinkie.

"Is it them?" asked Joey. He and Timber immediately rushed over to the glowing spot. A second later, the light faded, and Bakura, Twilight, and Rarity appeared.

"Bakura! Rarity! Twi! You're okay!" said Joey.

"Joey?" asked Rarity. "Is that you?"

"Twilight!" cried Timber as he threw his arms around Twi's neck. "I missed you so much! And I was so worried!"

Twilight returned the hug. "I missed you too."

"Where are we?" asked Bakura.

"With friends," said Tea.

The girls all rushed over and hugged Twi and Rarity.

"Yug! We got em!" called Joey. "Ya did it!"

"Thank goodness," said Sunset. "Thank you, Yugi. I owe you one."

"No you don't," said Yugi. "I'm just glad everyone's back."

"Yugi…" said Kaiba. "The two puzzle pieces. You have them both, correct?"

Yugi opened his palm, revealing the two pieces. "Right here."

"Good," said Kaiba. "As soon as I'm done with the girl, you will summon the Pharaoh, so that he and I can finally settle things, once and for all."

"Excuse me, what was that?" asked Sunset. "That's only if you can beat me."

"And I shall," said Kaiba. "Hopefully, you'll give me a little bit of a challenge."

"Oh, you've done it now," said Sunset.

"Wait Kaiba," said Yugi. "Listen to me, I understand how badly you want to battle Atem. Believe me, more than you know. But the reality is…"

"Save it, Yugi!" said Kaiba. "As soon as I'm done with Shimmer, you'll have no choice but to bring him out!"

"But that's what I'm trying to say!" said Yugi. "You see..."

"Yugi!" said Sunset. "Please, just wait until after the duel. Kaiba's got me in a _bad_ mood."

"Okay," said Yugi seeing the fire in her eyes.

"The next match will be Sunset Shimmer vs Seto Kaiba!" said Mokuba. "Let's get it on!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Tempest was walking tiredly through the same strange desert that Capper had died in, feeling nothing but shame and despair. A couple seconds later, she stepped on the Millennium Ring. "The ring!"

"Hello Tempest!" said a deep, monstrous voice.

"Who's there?!" asked Tempest.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten your old friend!" said the voice. Suddenly, Yami Bakura appeared.

"Bakura!" said Tempest. "How did you get here?!"

"I'm not Bakura you simple minded fool!" said the boy. He started to mutate and transform into Zorc the Dark One. "This is my true form!"

"What the?" asked Tempest. "I don't understand!"

"Of course you don't!" said Zorc. "You've been so blinded by your own beliefs, you never thought to look back on your master's teachings."

Tempest then thought back to when Shadi told the story of how the Pharaoh defeated Zorc and sealed his darkness inside the Millennium items. "No… I can't believe I forgot!"

Zorc began laughing maniacally.

"Grubber, you were right this whole time," said Tempest on her knees. "I was wrong, I betrayed Master Shadi. I ignored everything he said. Everything he never wanted me to do, I've done. It was never Bakura's fault. He possessed, just like Capper was. I trapped him and innocent people in that dark dimension. How could I have been so stupid?!"

Zorc then turned into a storm of dark purple particles and swarmed all around the girl.

Tempest screamed as the particles came into contact with her body. "Help me, Grubber! Help me! Master Shadi!"

Zorc continued laughing.


	7. Blazing Phoenix vs Rampaging Dragon

Roland joined Mokuba on stage.

"Start the match!" said Mokuba.

"Let's duel!" said Kaiba and Sunset.

 **Kaiba LP: 8000**

 **Sunset LP: 8000**

 **Turn 1: Sunset**

"Ladies first!" said Sunset. "I summon Giant Germ in defense mode. Then I'll place two cards face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Kaiba**

"My turn, I draw!" said Kaiba. "I summon Assault Wyvern in attack mode. Now, exterminate her little virus!"

"Guess you forgot your biology," said Sunset. "Don't you know how rapidly germ cells make multiple? When one is destroyed, two more infect the field! Then the infection travels to your life points!"

 **Kaiba LP: 7500**

 **Sunset LP: 8000**

"On the contrary," said Kaiba. "I know exactly how they work. _And_ how to eradicate them completely. I activate my Wyvern's effect! When he destroys a monster, I can tribute him, to special summon a Dragon from my hand. I choose Blue Eyes White Dragon! Then I play Dragon's Fighting Spirit! With this spell, my dragon can make one additional attack for each monster that was special summoned this turn. So with his normal attack, plus the two monsters you just brought out, that makes three!"

"Woah," said Sunset. "Good thing I came prepared. I activate Desert Sunlight! This switches every monster on my field into defense mode."

"Not bad," said Kaiba. "But far from good enough! Blue Eyes! Attack!"

"Don't forget about my germ's effects!" said Sunset.

 **Kaiba LP: 6500**

 **Sunset LP: 8000**

"You'll have to do a lot better than that," said Kaiba. "Blue Eyes, Attack!"

 **Kaiba LP: 6500**

 **Sunset LP: 5000**

"Fine!" said Sunset. "I activate Damage Condenser! Whenever I receive damage from an attack, I can discard one card, (Drillago) then special summon a monster from my deck with ATK power equal to, or less than the damage I took. So I'll bring out, Beast King Barbaros!"

"I end my turn," said Kaiba.

 **Turn 3: Sunset**

"Okay, my turn!" said Sunset. "King Barbaros, attack his dragon!"

"But they'll both be destroyed!" said Kaiba.

"I know," said Sunset. "That's what I want. Now I can play Message in a Bottle! This lets me select three monsters with different levels in my graveyard, after that, I can bring em back to the field. So I'll bring back one of my Germs, my Beast King, and the Drillago I discarded. Then I'll play Galaxy Queen's Light. It lets me select one level seven or higher monster on my side, then every other monster I control has their level raised to the same number as the selected creature. Obviously I choose my Beast King, so my other two monster's levels rise to eight." (Giant Germ Level: 2 – 8) (Drillago Level: 4 – 8) "Now I'll overlay them and Xyz summon Grandopolis, The Eternal Golden City in defense mode. _This card reminds me of Las Pegasus._ I'm done, for now."

 **Turn 4: Kaiba**

"Very well," said Kaiba as he drew. "I activate Chaos Form! With this spell, I can send the second Blue Eyes in my hand to the grave, then Ritual summon Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon! Attack her tower turtle! Oh, and by the way, whenever my MAX Dragon destroys a monster in defense mode, you take _twice_ the piercing damage!"

"What?!" asked Sunset. "Oh snap!"

 **Kaiba LP: 6500**

 **Sunset LP: 4000**

"Just surrender," said Kaiba. "You have no chance."

"Never!" said Sunset.

Kaiba shrugged. "So be it. As soon as we're finished, I'll finally get a worthy opponent. Be ready to bring out Atem, Yugi."

"What?!" asked Yugi. "Is that what this has all been about?!"

"Of course, Yugi," said Kaiba. "He's the only one that has ever given me an actual challenge."

Sunset was so mad, her hair lit on fire. _"Why you…"_

"Sunset, I am so sorry!" said Yugi. "Kaiba, you have to get over this. The truth is… Atem isn't inside the puzzle anymore."

"Nice try, Yugi," said Kaiba.

"Okay then, I suppose I have to show you," said Yugi. He then completed the puzzle, but nothing happened.

"The Pharaoh," said Grubber. "He didn't return."

" _He doesn't know?!"_ asked Sunset remembering what Yugi said about the ancient Pharaoh. _"Oh my god!"_

"He's gone, Kaiba," said Yugi. "Gone forever. He ascended to the great beyond. It wasn't easy. It still isn't. But I had to let him go, and you have to as well. I'm sorry. It was just his time to go."

Kaiba couldn't believe his ears, or his eyes. _"Everything I did up until this moment was for nothing?! No! It can't be true! I've come too far to just let it all go!_ You lie!"

"Huh?" asked Yugi.

"He's just afraid!" said Kaiba. "Scared to come out and face me! He knows he's no match for me! But it's not going to work! As soon as I'm done with Shimmer, he's mine!" He then turned back to Sunset. "Let's finish this!"

 **Turn 5: Sunset**

Sunset scowled. "Yeah, let's! I play Pot of Greed, so I draw two cards. Now since I don't have any monsters, I can special summon Junk Forward. Then I'll tribute him so I can summon Kabuki Dragon! And whenever he attacks, I can change the battle mode of your monster."

"Oh no," said Kaiba.

"Say goodbye to your Blue Eyes!" said Sunset. "Kabuki Dragon, attack!" Kaiba's dragon was changed to defense mode, then destroyed.

"Time for reinforcements," said Kaiba. "Whenever a Blue Eyes monster is destroyed, I can special summon this card! Deep-Eyes White Dragon! But that's not all, now you lose 600 life points for each dragon with a different name in my graveyard! And I have three."

"Crud!" said Sunset.

 **Kaiba LP: 6500**

 **Sunset LP: 2200**

"Also," said Kaiba. "My Deep-Eyes lets me choose a Dragon in my graveyard, and copy its ATK. So I choose, my Chaos MAX Dragon!" (Deep-Eyes White Dragon ATK: 0 – 4000)

" _Oh great,"_ said Sunset. "I place one card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 6: Kaiba**

"My turn," said Kaiba. "I play my own Pot of Greed. Now I play Dark Core! By discarding a card, (Polymerization) I can banish your little lizard!"

"Oh no!" gasped Sunset.

"Deep-Eyes, end this duel!" ordered Kaiba.

"Not if I can help it!" said Sunset. "I activate Half Unbreak! With this, I can select a monster on the field, then it can't be destroyed."

"I already got rid of your only creature!" Kaiba pointed out.

"I said _a_ monster, not _my_ monster," corrected Sunset. "So I select your Deep-Eyes! Finally, I only take have the damage this turn." (Deep-Eyes White Dragon ATK: 4000 – 2000)

 **Kaiba LP: 6500**

 **Sunset LP: 200**

"You're only delaying the inevitable," said Kaiba. "I end my turn." (Deep-Eyes White Dragon ATK: 2000 – 4000)

 **Turn 7: Sunset**

" _I could tell you the same thing,"_ said Sunset. "Yes! I play Pot of Avarice! So I can return my three Germs, Beast King, and Junk Forward to my deck and draw two cards. You know, Kaiba. You're famous for your Blue Eyes cards."

"Of course I am," said Kaiba.

"And because you are…" continued Sunset. "You're more predictable. I summon Ally of Justice Core Destroyer! And whenever he battles a Light monster, it's instantly destroyed!"

"What?!" asked Kaiba.

"That's right," said Sunset. "Now attack!" The dragon was instantly destroyed.

Kaiba chuckled. "You may know about my cards, but did you know about my dragon's other effect? When it's destroyed, I can destroy every one of your monsters!"

"No!" cried Sunset.

"That's right," said Kaiba. "Nobody knows more about this game than I do!"

"Whatever, I end my turn," said Sunset.

 **Turn 8: Kaiba**

"Your last turn," said Kaiba. "I remove my Chaos MAX Dragon and my Deep Eyes to special summon my Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of The End!"

Sunset gasped. "I'm done for!"

"Yes you are," said Kaiba. _"Wait! Yugi did this to me at Battle City. He ruined my direct attack with that dumb little Kuriboh, I heard she has it too. Oh well, there's more than one way to set a sun._ I activate my dragon's effect, by giving up 1000 life points, I can send all the cards on the field and in our hands to the graveyard. Then you lose 300 life points for each one."

 **Kaiba LP: 5500**

 **Sunset LP: 200**

"Not so fast!" said Sunset. "The card you just sent to the grave is Elephant Statue of the Blessing! And it's discarded by an opponent's card effect, I gain 2000 life points!"

"What?!" asked Kaiba.

 **Kaiba LP: 5500**

 **Sunset LP: 2200**

 **Kaiba LP: 5500**

 **Sunset LP: 1600**

"I guess it's true, the _Elephant_ never forgets," said Sunset. "You knew I had Kuriboh in my deck, it's just a shame it wasn't the card in my hand."

Kaiba just stood there dumbfounded for a minute. "Whatever, just get your turn over with."

 **Turn 9: Sunset**

"If you insist," said Sunset. "Perfect… I put this card in my deck specifically for you. I summon Victoria in attack mode! And once per turn, I can special summon a Dragon monster from your graveyard and special summon it to my side."

"No way!" cried Kaiba.

"Yes, way!" said Sunset. "And now, I think I'll bring back your Chaos Max Dragon!"

Kaiba stared at his own monster in complete disbelief.

"Blue Eyes Max Dragon!" called Sunset. "Attack him directly!"

"Ah!" cried Kaiba.

 **Kaiba LP: 1500**

 **Sunset LP: 1600**

"Victoria, end this!" ordered Sunset.

"Nooooo!" yelled Kaiba.

 **Kaiba LP: 0**

 **Sunset LP: 1600**

Tears were falling down Mokuba's cheeks. "No… Seto… He went through so much, and tried so hard. It's just… not fair!"

"The winner is… Sunset Shimmer!" said Roland.

The two gangs and crowd cheered.

"Way to go, Sunset!" called Flash and Twilight.

"I knew she could do it!" said Rarity.

"Me too!" said Spike.

"She did it! She did it!" cheered Fluttershy and Pinkie.

"Awesome!" cheered Rainbow and Joey.

"Yee-haw!" said Applejack.

"Yeah!" said Tea and Tristan.

Timber, Bakura, and Mai clapped in support.

Spike barked with joy.

"Congratulations!" said Yugi. "You really wowed _all_ of us. Excellent dueling."

"Thanks, Yugi," said Sunset. "Maybe that'll teach Kaiba not to underestimate his opponents."

"No…" said Kaiba as he fell to his knees. _"All my hopes and dreams were so close to coming true… But once again they slipped through my grasp... What if it's really true? What if the Pharaoh really is gone? Did I really just waste all that time and money for nothing?!"_

Mokuba then ran over and helped him up. "Come on, bro. We'll figure out… something. I promise."

"The next battle will be Sunset Shimmer vs Yugi Moto!" said Roland. "The winner will be crowned the new King, or Queen of Games!"

The crowd cheered.

"So…" said Grubber. "We had nothing to worry about this whole time?"

"I guess so," said one of the Plana kids.

"This is just… too shocking to believe," said Grubber. "If only Tempest were here."

While Kaiba sat there sulking, Sunset and Yugi prepared their decks.

"Well, Sunset," said Yugi. "Best of luck to you."

"You too," said Sunset.

"We hardly knew each other at Battle City," said Yugi. "But now, we can truly show each other what we're really like, and how far we've come."

"I can't wait," said Sunset.

Both players stared at each other as they drew their cards, with respect was in their gaze, but competition burning in their souls.


	8. The King and Queen

"Let's get this battle started!" said Roland.

"Game on!" said Sunset and Yugi.

 **Yugi LP: 8000**

 **Sunset LP: 8000**

"Who should go first?" asked Sunset.

"Ladies first," said Yugi.

"No thanks," said Sunset. "You go ahead."

 **Turn 1: Yugi**

"Okay," said Yugi. "I summon Marshmacaron in defense mode! I then place a face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Sunset**

"I'm up then," said Sunset. "I play Shard of Greed. Now, during every one of my turns, this card will gain a greed counter. When it has two or more, I can send it to the grave and draw two cards. Next I summon Jurrac Monoloph! Attack his Marshmacaron!

"Just so you know," said Yugi. "When my Marshmacaron is destroyed, I can bring out two more from my deck."

"Well guess what?" asked Sunset. "My Jurrac can attack every monster on your field!"

"Say what?" asked Yugi as his monsters were destroyed.

"I end my turn with one face down," said Sunset.

 **Turn 3: Yugi**

"My turn!" said Yugi. "I summon Sentry Soldier of Stone in defense mode. Then I'll place one card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 4: Sunset**

"My turn," said Sunset. (Greed counters: 1) "I play the Ritual spell, End of the World! By tributing my Jurrac and the Kabuki Dragon in my hand, I can Ritual summon Ruin, Queen of Oblivion! Now attack his Sentry! Oh, and one more thing, if she destroys a monster, she can attack again."

"What?!" gasped Yugi.

"Attack!" ordered Sunset. "But not before I do, I'll activate Pyramid Energy! This gives my Queen 200 extra ATK points until the end of the turn." (Ruin, Queen of Oblivion ATK: 2300 – 2500)

 **Yugi LP: 5500**

 **Sunset LP: 8000**

"I activate my traps!" said Yugi. "Dig of Destiny and Dark Horizon! Since I took damage, I can draw a card! And thanks to my Dark Horizon, I can special summon a Dark Spellcaster monster from my deck that has ATK power equal to or less than the damage I just lost. And since I lost 2500, I'll special summon my Dark Magician!"

"Oh great," said Sunset. _"That's his signature card._ _I better be careful._ I end my turn." (Ruin, Queen of Oblivion ATK: 2500 – 2300)

 **Turn 5: Yugi**

"My turn!" said Yugi. "I play Thousand Knives. Since my favorite magician is on the field, I can destroy one of your monsters!"

"No!" said Sunset.

"Dark Magic Attack!" said Yugi.

"Ah!" cried Sunset.

 **Yugi LP: 5500**

 **Sunset LP: 5500**

"I place three cards face down," said Yugi. "You're up."

 **Turn 6: Sunset**

"Got it," said Sunset. (Greed counters: 2) "Now I can draw two cards. Next, I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Queen! Then I'll play Back-Up Rider, to give my Queen 1500 an extra ATK points." (Ruin, Queen of Oblivion ATK: 2300 – 3800) "Attack his mage!"

"I activate my trap, Dimension Sphinx!" said Yugi. "This lets me select a monster on my side, so I choose my magician! Now, whenever he's attacked by a monster with higher AK points, you will take damage to your life points equal to the difference in our monster's ATK power!"

"Nice card," said Sunset.

"Thanks," said Yugi. "Now I play another trap, Dimension Guardian! This prevents my magician from being destroyed by battle and card effects!"

"What?!" asked Sunset.

"And I have one more," said Yugi. "I activate Dimension Mirage! Now, if your Queen doesn't destroy my Mage, I can banish another monster from my graveyard, and force your Queen to attack again."

"But…" said Sunset. "With those other two traps, you'll reduce me to zero!"

"That's right," said Yugi.

"Too bad it won't work," said Sunset.

"Huh?" asked Yugi.

"I activate my own trap, Fairy Wind!" said Sunset. "Now, all face up spell and trap cards are destroyed, and we both take 300 points of damage for each one. And since you have three traps, we take 900 points."

 **Yugi LP: 4600**

 **Sunset LP: 4600**

"Dang!" said Yugi.

"And my attack still goes through," reminded Sunset. "So say goodbye to your favorite monster."

"Crud!" said Yugi.

 **Yugi LP: 3300**

 **Sunset LP: 4600**

"I end my turn," said Sunset. (Ruin, Queen of Oblivion ATK: 3800 – 2300)

 **Turn 7: Yugi**

"It's my draw!" said Yugi. "Since you have a monster and I don't, I can special summon Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight! But both of our monsters would be destroyed, I'll just end my turn with a face down."

 **Turn 8: Sunset**

"Then I draw," said Sunset. _"I bet that face down is a trap. So I'll lay one of my own._ I place one card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 9: Yugi**

"Okay, my turn!" said Yugi. "I play Pot of Greed, so I draw two cards. Then I'll activate Metamorphortress! This card summons itself as a monster with 1000 ATK and DEF points. Then I can equip it to one of my other creatures and increase its power by the ATK points of the equipped monster. I'll equip him to Gaia, so my Metamorphortress gains 2300 points. (Metamorphortress ATK: 1000 – 3300 / DEF: 1000 – 3100) "Attack her Queen!"

"Darn!" said Sunset.

 **Yugi LP: 3500**

 **Sunset LP: 3800**

"I slap a card face down, and that's all," said Yugi. "By the way, after my Metamorphortress attacks, it goes to defense mode."

 **Turn 10: Sunset**

"Cool," said Sunset. "I'll also slap one card face down. Sorry, but that's all I can do at the moment."

 **Turn 11: Yugi**

"I never judge," said Yugi as he drew. "Now I switch Gaia back to attack mode. Attack!"

"Activate trap!" said Sunset. "Mirror Force! So your knight and fortress are destroyed!"

"Shoot!" said Yugi. "Oh well, I place one card face down and summon Apple Magician Girl in attack mode. I end my turn."

"Hey! That's ma card," said Applejack.

 **Turn 12: Sunset**

"My turn," said Sunset. "I set a monster, then I'll play Book of Taiyou to flip it face up, Morphing Jar! So we both discard all our cards, and each draw five new cards."

Yugi looked at his new hand. _"Alright! I needed these. Thanks Sunset."_

"Now I play Pot of Greed, which means two cards for me," continued Sunset. "I'll discard my Huntsman of the Dark World to special summon The Tricky! And with my huntsman's effect, I can draw one more card. Then I reveal my face down, Space Dragster! This card special summons itself as a level one tuner monster. Then I'll tune it together with my Tricky and Morphing Jar to synchro summon Red Dragon Archfiend! Then I'll power him up with Blustering Winds! It gives an extra grad until the end of your next standby phase."

" _Great,"_ said Yugi. (Red Dragon Archfiend ATK: 3000 – 4000)

"Now attack!" ordered Sunset. "Absolute Power Force!"

"I activate my Apple Girl Magician's effect!" alerted Yugi. "When you attack her, I can special summon a level five or lower Spellcaster from my hand and force your monster to attack _it_ instead. Plus, your monster's ATK power gets cut in half."

"What?!" asked Sunset. (Red Dragon Archfiend ATK: 4000 – 2000)

"Your new target will be… Lemon Magician Girl!" said Yugi. "And she also lets me summon another Spellcaster, _and_ cut monster's power in half again."

"You gotta be kidding me!" said Sunset.

"Cut her some slack," said Flash.

"Sorry," said Yugi. "But I think I'll choose Dark Magician Girl as your new target." (Red Dragon Archfiend ATK: 2000 – 1000)

 **Yugi LP: 3500**

 **Sunset LP: 2800**

"Good thing I have a back plan," said Sunset.

"Whatta mean?" asked Yugi.

"Since I just lost life points, I can special summon Gorz the Emissary of Darkness!" said Sunset. "Plus, now I can bring out an Emissary token. And his ATK will be the same as the damage I just took." (Emissary token ATK: ? – 1000)

" _Crap,"_ said Yugi quietly.

"Gorz, attack his Apple Magician!" ordered Sunset.

"I activate my trap!" said Yugi. "Magician's Defense! Now since I have a Spellcaster on the field, I can cut all the damage I receive this turn in half."

"Can I get a break?" asked Sunset.

 **Yugi LP: 2750**

 **Sunset LP: 2800**

"Yeah! Lay off her a little!" said Flash.

"Relax, Flash," said Twi.

"It's all part of the game," said Timber.

"Man, this guy is tough," said Fluttershy.

"Of course he is," said Tea.

"He's the best!" said Tristan and Joey.

"Well so is she!" said Pinkie.

"So am I!" said Rainbow.

"Now my Emissary token will attack your Lemon Magician!" said Sunset.

"Thanks to my trap, I only lose half the damage," said Yugi.

 **Yugi LP: 2650**

 **Sunset LP: 2800**

"I place three cards face down and end my turn," said Sunset.

 **Turn 13: Yugi**

"Alright, I draw," said Yugi. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Lemon Magician Girl! Then I'll tribute her and my Dark Magician Girl to summon Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition! And when he's summoned, I can destroy all other monsters on the field, then you take damage equal to the monster with the highest ATK points that was destroyed."

"What?!" asked Sunset. "That my Gorz!"

"Exactly," said Yugi. "Plus, my dragon gains ATK power equal to his ATK points."

"Oh yeah?" asked Sunset. "Well I activate Torrential tribute to get rid of your dragon!"

"Shoot!" said Yugi "Then I guess I'll just activate Final Geas! This card banishes all the monsters in both player's graveyards. Then, I can special summon the Spellcaster with the highest level among those banished cards to my field. Welcome back, Dark Magician!"

"Nice trap," said Sunset. "Now I'll activate one of my own. Return from the Different Dimension!"

"What?!" asked Yugi.

"With this, I can special summon as many banished monsters as possible," said Sunset. "So I'll bring my Red Dragon Archfiend and Emissary of Darkness in attack mode. Then I'll also bring back The Tricky, my Queen of Oblivion, and Kabuki Dragon in defense mode!"

"Woah," said Yugi. "Nice move."

"Thanks," said Sunset.

"I think I won't attack this turn," said Yugi.

"Hoping they'll all just go away at the end of the turn?" asked Sunset. "Well not this time, I activate Imperial Iron Wall! This prevents monsters from being banished."

"Nice card," said Yugi. "But I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy it!"

"No!" cried Sunset. "There goes my whole plan!"

"Sorry," said Yugi. "I place one card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 14: Sunset**

"Okay, I draw!" said Sunset. "I play Graceful Charity, so I draw three and discard two. I'll discard Electric Virus and Giant Germ, then I'll remove them to special summon Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning!"

"Say what?" asked Yugi.

"I got it at your grandpa's shop," said Sunset. "And I'll use his second effect to banish your Dark Magician."

"Oh no!" said Yugi.

"Unfortunately, now I can't attack," said Sunset. "So I'll end my turn."

 **Turn 15: Yugi**

"Okay, my turn," said Yugi. "I'll just set a monster and end my turn."

 **Turn 16: Sunset**

"Alright, I draw!" said Sunset. "I play Night Beam to destroy your face down."

"Oh man," said Yugi. _"There goes my Magic Cylinder."_

"Luster Soldier, attack!" ordered Sunset.

" _Thank you, Clear Kuriboh,"_ thought Yugi.

"And since I destroyed your monster, I can attack again!" said Sunset.

"Yikes!" said Yugi.

"Attack!" yelled Sunset.

"Not so fast!" said Yugi. "When you attack, I can banish my Clear Kuriboh and draw one card, if it's a monster, I can summon it and it becomes your new target!"

"Then it all comes down to this," said Sunset.

"Guess so," said Yugi. "I really hope it's a monster. This duel is too much fun to stop! Well… here goes…"

Before Yugi could complete his draw, the power at the stadium was shut down, and all the holograms disappeared.

"What the?" asked Sunset.

"What's going on?" asked Yugi.

"What happened?" asked Kaiba.

"I don't know, Seto," said Mokuba.

A low chuckle was then heard, and then the Staff of Sacanas appeared in the left side of the stage.

"Hey," said Yugi. "Is that?"

"Yes," answered Sunset. "That's Tempest's staff."

The gem then shined an orange light on the field. On the lighted spot was a reflection of the Millennium Ring.

The chuckle was heard again, only louder and deeper.

A huge wave of darkness then shot out of the staff's gem. The gem itself began to grow.

"What is this?" asked Kaiba.

"Whatever is it, I don't like it," said Sunset.

The darkness then swirled around the entire arena, trapping everyone inside it like a cage.

"Woah, not good," said Joey.

"Obviously," said Rarity.

"Tempest, is that you?!" asked Grubber.

"It is INDEED, dear brother!" said Tempest in deep witch like voice. "I'm back, and stronger than ever!"A creepy female hand with sharp nails extended out of the giant jewel.

"Oh my lord!" said Sunset.

Yugi gasped.

"What in the world?!" asked Kaiba.

As the evil darkness touched the people, they began to disintegrate and vanish.

"What's happening?!" asked Mokuba. "And what's coming out of that jewel?!"

Another creepy hand came out of the gem, then a leg, then a head. It had long neon green, purple, red and pink hair, bright violet skin, dark indigo eyes, and pointed teeth. Finally, the rest of the body came out. It had bat-like wings, toned muscles, and the Millennium Ring hung from the neck.

"Tempest?" asked Yugi and Sunset.

"Well…" said Kaiba as he stepped onto the stage. "She's looked better."

Grubber appeared in front of the monster. "Tempest! What are you doing?!"

"Tempest?" asked the monster. "She's no longer here! Her fear invited me into her soul! She has released me from my prison! And by combing my dark energy with her staff's gem, I've become stronger than anyone else in the world! Now I can finally create what we always dreamed of, brother. The new perfect world we deserve!"

The other Plana children appeared behind Grubber, then hid behind him in fear.

"No!" cried Grubber. "When used correctly, our power can bring harmony and peace to the world! But just one drop of evil can turn it all into a realm of absolute chaos! This isn't what we wanted! This isn't what the Plana is used for!"

People in the stadium kept on vanishing.

"Please!" said Grubber. "You have to stop this! Fight the darkness in your soul! For our master."

"Shadi is dead!" said the monster. "So _he_ is no longer my master! And anyone who opposes me will meet the same fate! Including you, brother!"

"Look out!" yelled Yugi.

"Get away from her!" called Sunset.

" _Tempest,"_ said Grubber full of despair as he disintegrated. The Plana children then vanished as well.

"Grubber!" called Yugi.

"No…" said Sunset.

"I've had enough of this!" said Kaiba.

The evil creature laughed. "Yugi Muto! Seto Kaiba! Sunset Shimmer! Now, the fun can truly begin!"


	9. No More Light?

The dark dimension reappeared in the sky.

Yugi was so shocked by what was happening that he dropped the puzzle.

"The darkness!" said Rainbow.

"It's devouring everything!" said Joey.

"What's going on?!" cried Mai.

"Not again!" screamed Rarity.

Spike whined.

"Sunset!" cried Twilight and Flash.

"Yugi!" called Tea as all of the friends were consumed by the darkness.

"Tea! No!" cried Yugi.

"My friends…" said Sunset in complete shock. "Now what do we do?"

"I'm not going down without a fight!" said Kaiba. "You hear me, Tempest?! It's time to battle!"

"I was hoping you'd say that!" said Yugi.

"Count me in!" said Sunset.

"Keeps your claws off our dimension, Tempest!" said Kaiba.

"It's time put an end to your dark scheme!" said Yugi.

"And bring back the light that you just can't seem to see in the world!" added Sunset.

"Once I'm done shrouding this place in endless darkness, light will never exist again!" said Tempest.

"That'll never happen!" said Sunset.

"Not on our watch!" added Yugi.

"Let's duel!" said Kaiba.

"A duel?!" asked Tempest. "Fine! Why should I destroy you all so quickly, when I can savor the experience slowly?!" A shiny diamond shaped disk appeared on her wrist.

 **Dark Tempest LP: 8000**

 **Yugi Muto LP: 8000**

 **Seto Kaiba LP: 8000**

 **Sunset Shimmer LP: 8000**

 **Turn 1: Tempest**

"I'm first!" said Tempest. "I play Poison of the Old Man, so I gain 1200 life points!"

 **Dark Tempest LP: 9200**

 **Yugi Muto LP: 8000**

 **Seto Kaiba LP: 8000**

 **Sunset Shimmer LP: 8000**

"I wonder if her deck has changed?" wondered Sunset.

"Probably," said Yugi. "So we better stay alert!"

"Duh!" said Kaiba. "I know that!"

"Your end begins now!" said Tempest. "I summon Reptilianne Gorgon in attack mode! I place three cards face down! Now go! But be warned, if you lose in this shadow game, you lose your very life! With every life point you lose, a piece of you will be sucked in that vortex in the sky!"

 **Turn 2: Kaiba**

"We'll see about that," said Kaiba. "I play Polymerization to fuse my three Blue Eyes Dragons together, to create Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Unfortunately, I can't attack, so I'll end my turn with two face downs. Be careful, you two."

 **Turn 3: Yugi**

"Thanks, Kaiba! I draw!" said Yugi. "I play my own Polymerization to fuse my Dark Magician with my Buster Blader to form, Dark Paladin! I'll end my turn with three face down cards!"

 **Turn 4: Sunset**

"Okay, my turn!" said Sunset. "I'll discard my Giant Germ to special summon The Tricky! Then I'll tribute him to summon my Kabuki Dragon in attack mode! Then I'll play Shard of Greed! So in two turns, I can draw two cards. Then I'll activate Wave Motion Cannon! You see…"

"I activate a trap!" interrupted Tempest. "Full House! It lets destroy two face up spell/trap cards, and three face down spell/trap cards!"

"Oh no!" cried the three.

"I'll destroy both of your Shard and Cannon, Sunset!" said Tempest. "Then I'll get rid of one of Kaiba's face downs, and two of Yugi's!"

" _There goes my Negate Attack!"_ thought Kaiba.

"Hold up!" said Yugi. "Before you destroy my cards, I'm going to activate one! Emergency Provisions! And I'll sacrifice the other card you were about to destroy, (Magic Cylinder) to give my life points a boost!"

 **Dark Tempest LP: 9200**

 **Yugi Muto LP: 9000**

 **Seto Kaiba LP: 8000**

 **Sunset Shimmer LP: 8000**

"I place one card face down and end my turn," said Sunset.

 **Turn 5: Tempest**

"It's time for all of you to meet your maker!" said Tempest. "I play Pot of Greed so I can draw two cards! Now I activate Skill Drain! I simply give up 1000 life points, and all your monsters lose their effects!"

"Oh no!" said Yugi.

"Shoot!" said Sunset.

"I'm really getting tired of you!" said Kaiba.

 **Dark Tempest LP: 8200**

 **Yugi Muto LP: 9000**

 **Seto Kaiba LP: 8000**

 **Sunset Shimmer LP: 8000**

"Too bad!" said Tempest. "Now I summon Reptilianne Scylla! Then I'll activate Snatch Steal!"

The three gasped.

"I know how much you all _love_ your powerful monsters!" said Tempest. "So I decided it would be fitting to destroy you all with those very cards! I choose Yugi's Dark Paladin!"

"No!" cried Yugi.

"I thought she would have wanted my dragon," said Kaiba. "It's the strongest."

"Now my new warrior will attack your Neo Blue Eyes, Seto Kaiba!" said Tempest.

"Ha!" laughed Kaiba. "Bring it on!"

"Wait Kaiba!" said Yugi. "She maybe up to something!"

"Me and my Blue Eyes can handle anything she throws at us!" said Kaiba.

"I sure hope so," said Sunset.

"Dark paladin, attack!" ordered Tempest.

"Neo Blue Eyes! Counterattack!" yelled Kaiba.

"I don't know what you're up to, Tempest! But it's not happening!" said Yugi. "I activate Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light!"

"What the?!" asked Kaiba.

"Sorry, Kaiba! But I'm not taking any chances!" said Yugi. "This card lets me pay 1000 life points and…"

 **Dark Tempest LP: 8200**

 **Yugi Muto LP: 8000**

 **Seto Kaiba LP: 8000**

 **Sunset Shimmer LP: 8000**

"Activate trap!" interrupted Tempest. "Final Fusion!"

"Final what?!" asked Sunset.

"This card can only be activated when two fusion monsters battle one another!" explained Tempest. "The attack is then negated, and we all take damage equal to the two monster's combined ATK points!"

"Oh my god!" said Sunset. "That's 7400!"

 **Dark Tempest LP: 800**

 **Yugi Muto LP: 600**

 **Seto Kaiba LP: 600**

 **Sunset Shimmer LP: 600**

"Exactly!" said Tempest. "You just payed 1000 points for nothing, Yugi!"

"Oh man," said Yugi. His trap then shocked him with electricity as per the cost of the activation.

"Yugi!" said Kaiba and Sunset.

"It's cool," said Yugi. "I'm okay."

"Not for long!" said Tempest.

As the points went down, all of the player's bodies, except for Tempest, began to disintegrate and were sucked into the alternate dimension in the sky.

Sunset gasped her breast. "What's going on? I… I suddenly feel so weak."

Yugi dropped on to one knee. "Me too!"

"Try to stay strong!" said Kaiba as he grasped his chest.

Tempest chuckled. "I said I'd destroy you all! And I literally meant it! Poor Yugi, now your points are too low to use your trap!"

Yugi gritted his teeth.

"But just to make sure Kaiba doesn't interfere with my plans, _again!"_ said Tempest. "I play Offerings to the Doomed to destroy your Neo Dragon!"

"Damn you!" yelled Kaiba.

"Reptilianne Gorgon! Destroy the Pharaoh's vessel once and for all!" ordered Tempest.

"Yugi!" cried Sunset.

"Oh no you don't!" said Kaiba. "Activate Krystal Avatar! This card summons itself as a monster with ATK power that's equal to my life points!" (Krystal Avatar ATK: ? – 600) "And the best part is, now you're forced to attack _it_!"

"But Kaiba," said Sunset. "You won't survive this!"

"Damn you!" said Tempest. "But very well, Gorgon! Get rid of this pest!"

 **Dark Tempest LP: 800**

 **Yugi Muto LP: 600**

 **Seto Kaiba LP: 0**

 **Sunset Shimmer LP: 600**

"Kaiba…" said Yugi. "Why did you do that?"

"For him," answered Kaiba.

"Him?" asked Sunset.

"The Pharaoh," said Kaiba. "Just so you know, now you take damage equal to my Avatar's ATK points, Tempest!"

"So what?!" asked Tempest. "I still have enough to send Sunset and Yugi up there with you!"

 **Dark Tempest LP: 200**

 **Yugi Muto LP: 600**

 **Seto Kaiba LP: 0**

 **Sunset Shimmer LP: 600**

Kaiba picked up the Millennium Puzzle. "Yugi, take this."

As Yugi grabbed the relic, Kaiba fell to his knees.

"Bring him back, Yugi," said Kaiba.

"But Kaiba!" said Yugi. But before he could finish, Kaiba disintegrated and his particles floated up to the swirling vortex. Yugi then placed the puzzle around his neck.

"Do not grieve for him, Yugi!" said Tempest. "After all, you're about to join him!"

After engulfing the stadium, the dark spirals began to branch to the rest of the city until everything was covered in pitch black.

"Face it! You and your friend have lost!" said Tempest. "The whole world have lost! And now, a new world of darkness will commence. For all eternity!"

"We have… to keep… fighting," said Yugi.

"I'll never… stop!" said Sunset weakly.

"You don't have a choice!" said Tempest.

Suddenly, Tempest grabbed her head and roared in agony.

"What's going on?" asked Sunset.

"I don't know," admitted Yugi.

The dark indigo eyes of Tempest changed back to their normal opal color. "Yugi! Sunset! I'm sorry!"

"Is that…?" asked Yugi.

"The normal Tempest?" asked Sunset.

"Yes!" said Tempest. "Listen to me! I can't hold back the darkness for very long!"

Her eyes then changed back to indigo. "Stay out of my way, you pathetic weakling!"

The eyes then changed back to opal. "Never! Yugi, Sunset! I'm so sorry about what I've done! All of you and my brother were right. I _was_ blinded by my thirst for revenge, I _did_ turn to the dark side. And for that I am truly sorry! I can't make up for what I've done, but I'm going to try!" She held her hand, then extended and sharpened the nails.

"What are you doing?" asked Sunset.

"Ending this!" said Tempest. She then pointed the sharpen nails toward her throat.

"No way!" said Yugi.

"Don't!" yelled Sunset.

"It's the only way to make up for what I've done!" said Tempest. "I'm sorry!" She then pulled back her hand, and thrusted forward!

Yugi and Sunset closed their eyes.

But just before Tempest could make contact, her hand stopped and her left eye color turned back to indigo. "Fool! You cannot stop me! You can never stop me! Besides, why would you want to? I'm giving you exactly what you wanted!"

"Liar!" said the other Tempest. "I never wanted this!"

The dark Tempest laughed. "Then you've been lying to yourself this whole time! Not to mention your poor brother!"

The opal eye began to cry. "You're right."

"Of course I am!" said the dark Tempest. "After all, I'm the one who started all this! And now, I'm going to finish it!" The Millennium Ring shined.

"No!" cried the other Tempest. "You can't do this!"

"But I already have!" said the dark Tempest. Both eyes then glowed red, pupils, irises, and all.

"She's gone," said Yugi.

"I can't believe she was willing to do that…" said Sunset.

"Don't worry!" said the dark Tempest. "She'll never interfere, EVER AGAIN! Finally, the moment I've been waiting is here! Reptilianne Scylla! Send Yugi to oblivion!"

" _I'm sorry, Sunset! Everyone!"_ said Yugi in his mind. _"I tried my best!"_

"Don't give up…!" cried Sunset. "I activate… Monster Recovery! Now I can shuffle my Kabuki Dragon back into my deck… reshuffle, and draw a new card! _If this isn't a good one, we're all finished! Please, please, please! Heart of the cards, help me save him!_ She closed her eyes and drew. Her eyes then opened. "YES! I discard the Goddess of Sweet Revenge! When she's the only card in my hand, and I don't have any other cards on my field, I can discard her, and destroy all the cards on your field!"

"WHAT?! NO!" roared Tempest. "Mark my words, Sunset! You! Will! PAY!"

"There's one more thing you should know…" said Sunset. "Now I can special summon a new monster from my deck…. I choose, Victoria! _Just in case Yugi can't do anything on his turn, I'll use Victoria's effect to bring back Neo Blue Eyes Dragon next turn."_ She then began to go in and out of conciseness.

"Thank you… so much… Sunset," said Yugi. "You're a true… friend. I'll take it… from here. I still believe… in the… heart of the… _cards."_ Yugi then blacked out and fell.

"No…" said Sunset as her vision blurred.

But suddenly, a large beam of golden light engulfed Yugi.

"What?!" asked Tempest. "What is happening?!"

The Millennium Puzzle sparked a huge flame of burning light. From the flaming illumination, stepped Atem dressed in the Domino High School uniform.

Sunset looked over. "What the?"

"No!" said Tempest. "It's not possible! You're supposed to be dead!"

 **Turn 6: Atem**

Without speaking, Atem touched Yugi's deck, and the top card glowed gold. He then drew, and special summoned Palladium Oracle Mahad, who kneeled before him. Mahad then turned to face Tempest, and attacked her directly.

"Noooooooooo!" cried the dark monster as she was struck. Her body then turned to stone and broke, leaving only the normal Tempest.

 **Dark Tempest LP: 0**

 **Yugi Muto LP: 600**

 **Seto Kaiba LP: 0**

 **Sunset Shimmer LP: 600**

The blast blew Tempest over the edge of the stadium. But she clung on to the edge.

The dark dimension shattered like glass, and golden light spread throughout the stadium and city, healing everything it touched. Then, all of those who were banished to the alternate dimension returned.

When the light touched Sunset, she regained her energy and stood up. "Is that Yugi, or…"

Yugi and Atem then split into separate bodies and stood facing each other for a moment. Neither said a word. After a few seconds of silence, Yugi nodded to the Pharaoh.

Atem then pressed on the puzzle, making it, and himself disappear. He then returned to the afterlife, permanently.

"Well," said Sunset. "That answers my question."

"I guess this would be a fitting end," said Tempest as she hung on to the edge. "I don't deserve to be here. Not after what I've done. And after what I gave into." She then loosen her grip and let herself fall. But someone gasped her right arm before she fell.

Tempest looked up and saw Sunset and Yugi.

"Hold on!" said Sunset.

"What?!" asked Tempest. "Why are you saving me?"

"Because _this_ is what friends do," answered Sunset.

Yugi then reached down. "Give me your other hand!"

"But…" said Tempest. "After everything I did, how can…"

" _You_ tried to stop it!" said Yugi. "If you really were evil at heart, you wouldn't have conflicted with that monster. Besides, your brother still needs you."

As the two pulled Tempest up, she immediately hugged both of them. "Thank you! Thank you both… from the bottom of my heart!"

"Tempest!" said a voice.

She looked over her shoulder and saw her foster brother. "Grubber!" She then rushed over and hugged him with all her might.

"I've missed this side of you," said Grubber.

"Grubber," said Tempest. "I truly am sorry for what I have done, and…"

"No need to be," said Grubber. "It wasn't you. But the Pharaoh did return. So…"

"Our powers are gone, forever," said a voice.

Tempest looked over. "Capper! You're back!"

"Sure am," said Capper. The small golden Pyramids on their foreheads peeled off and floated into the sky. "I know we're losing our powers, but I believe it's for the best."

Tempest nodded.

The other Plana children appeared on top of the stadium as their powers were removed.

"Thank you both for saving my sister from herself," said Grubber.

"You're welcome," said Yugi and Sunset.

"Yugi!" called Joey, Tea, Tristan, and Bakura.

"Sunset!" said Flash, Twilight, and the girls.

"Guys!" said Yugi as he ran over to them.

Sunset then ran to her friends and hugged all of them.

"Sunset!" said Flash. "Are you okay?"

"Totally," answered Sunset.

"Thank goodness," said Flash as he hugged her.

Tea hugged Yugi so hard, his face turned blue.

"Better give him some air," said Mai.

Bakura chuckled.

"Oops, sorry Yug," said Tea,

"Way to go pal!" said Joey.

"Thanks," said Yugi. "But I didn't beat Tempest." He then told everyone how the Atem saved the day.

"No way," said Joey. "You actually saw the Pharaoh?"

"Yeah, and it was great seeing him again," said Yugi.

"How's he doing?" asked Tea.

"Good," answered Yugi.

"So, be honest," said Joey. "He asked about me, didn't he?"

"Of course he did," said Bakura.

"What about me?" asked Tristan.

"Please," said Mai.

"He wished us all well," said Yugi.

"Wow," said Pinkie.

"That's all sounded so awesome," said Rainbow. "Wish we could have seen it."

"I know," said Twilight. "We've faced all sorts of magical adventures. But nothing like this!"

"It really was awesome," said Sunset.

"Let's just be glad it's all over," said Fluttershy.

"I certainly am," said Rarity.

"So, now this friend of yours is gone?" asked Applejack.

"Yep," said Yugi.

"Sorry," said AJ.

"It's okay," said Yugi.

"I said he'd be back," said Kaiba. "Hate to say I told you so, but...told you so."

Spike growled at Kaiba, but Twilight calmed him down.

"You were right," said Yugi. "I didn't think the Pharaoh _could_ return, but you never stopped believing."

"You have your bond with him… and I have mine," said Kaiba. "Take care, Yugi. Until our paths cross again."

"I hope they cross with you girls too," said Kaiba.

"Me too," said Mokuba blushing.

"You girls actually are much better than I thought," said Kaiba. "Especially you, Shimmer."

" _Finally,"_ thought Sunset. "Thanks."

"See ya later," said Mokuba, and the two brother walked off.

"'Till next time," said Yugi. "And thank you!"

The staff's gem then broke, releasing all the magic it took back into the Quantum Cube. Kaiba then picked up the cube and continued walking.

"So who won the duel?" asked Joey.

"I bet it was Sunset, right?" asked Pinkie.

"Nah, it had to be Yugi," said Tristan.

"So who won?!" asked Rainbow.

"Neither," said Yugi and Sunset.

"NEITHER?!" asked everyone.

"Yep," said Yugi. "Which means, we'll have to duel again one day."

"Anytime, anywhere," said Sunset.

"Cool!" said Yugi.


	10. Last Journey

After settling everything and apologizing to everyone, Tempest, Grubber, and Capper headed off to find a new town and restart their lives. The Plana children were taken to the local homeless shelter, in hopes of finding new and pure families.

 **A couple days later**

Finally, it was graduation day at Domino High. Yugi was in the auditorium reading his graduation speech, which did cause Tea to tear up a little. But Joey and Tristan cried uncontrollably. Finally, at the end of the ceremony, Yugi, Joey, Tea, Bakura, and Tristan all threw their diplomas up and cheered like crazy.

* * *

In his new town, Capper got a job working with the cats at the local animal shelter.

A small distance away in the same town, Tempest and Grubber enrolled in a special school so they could eventually accomplish their new goal. Go into space as astronauts.

* * *

Back in Domino, Yugi, his grandpa, Joey, Tristan, Duke, Bakura, and even Mai had gathered at the airport along with Sunset and her friends to see Tea off as she was getting ready to board her plane. After giving high fives to all her old pals, and hugging Sunset, Twilight, and the others, she finally boarded her plane, and set off to go study dancing abroad.

Yugi began his career of designing new games, while Tristan was forced to work in his father's factory.

Joey and Mai started entering tournaments all over the world. They vowed to never enter the same competition so they wouldn't have to battle each other. And whenever there was a tag team tournament, they took down everyone together.

Because all the girls loved his accent, Bakura decided to become a voice actor, which led to instant success.

Duke kept trying to sell Dungeon Dice Monsters, but it never went big, eventually it stopped selling, so he just went back to selling duel monster cards.

Sunset, and the girls then headed back to Canterlot High.

* * *

On the KaibaCorp space station, Kaiba was in a pod, talking with his brother on a monitor.

" _Big bro!"_ said Mokuba. _"The numbers are in for the new duel disk. It's a big hit!"_

"Thank you for the update Mokuba," said Kaiba. "But I really need to concentrate right now."

" _Big bro, are you sure you want to go through with this?"_ asked Mokuba. " _We haven't even tested this prototype yet. It's too dangerous!"_

"I'll be fine," said Kaiba as he grasped the Quantum Cube.

" _How can you be so sure?"_ asked Mokuba.

"Just trust me," said Kaiba. "Now it's time. Mokuba, you're in charge."

" _Seto, promise you'll come back,"_ said Mokuba.

Kaiba nodded. "Duel Dimension System! Activate!" The pod then shot down the elevator shaft that connected the station to Earth. The cube activated, covering the entire space station in golden light, the pod then suddenly vanished.

* * *

Kaiba's pod reappeared in an Egyptian desert. "Yes! It worked! So this is where the Pharaoh has been hiding in the afterlife. Well, he can't hide from me any longer!" Kaiba then exited the pod and walked to the top of a hill, overlooking a city containing Atem's palace.

Once at the palace, he advanced to the throne room where Atem is sitting with the puzzle around his neck.

"Who are you?!" asked one of the guards. "How dare you barge in our King's throne!"

"Relax!" said Atem. "I know him. He and I have a score to settle."

"You bet we do," said Kaiba.

"My king, let us deal with this trespasser," said the guard.

"No need to," said Atem. "He just wants to duel." He then activated his DiaDhank.

"If you say so, my king," said the guard.

"Let's do this," said Kaiba as he activated his duel disk.

"Give them room to duel!" said the guard. Everyone in the throne room gave them some distance.

"Game on!" said the two.

 **Kaiba LP: 8000**

 **Atem LP: 8000**

 **Turn 1: Kaiba**

"I've been waiting for this moment my entire life, Pharaoh," said Kaiba. "Time to prove everyone, and to myself, that I truly am the best! I activate Polymerization to fuse my three Blue Eyes White Dragons together to form, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Now I'll tribute it to special summon a monster that Pegasus just remade! The Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!"

"I don't believe it," said Atem.

"You remember his effect, right?" asked Kaiba. "He gains 300 points for every Dragon in my graveyard." (Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon ATK: 3000 – 4200) "Then I'll play Dragon Shrine! This lets me send one Dragon monster (Luster Dragon #2) from my deck to my graveyard! And if that monster was a Normal Dragon, which it was, I can then send another Dragon from my deck straight to the grave!" (D.D. Dragon) "Which means my dragon's points go up!" (Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon ATK: 4200 – 4800) "I end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Atem**

"Very well, my turn!" said Atem. As he touch his deck, the top card glowed. "I shall discard my three Magnet Warriors to special summon Valkyrion the Magna Warrior! Then I'll tribute him to re-summon back Alpha, Beta, and Gamma in attack mode! Now I shall sacrifice all three of them to summon my Egyptian God Card! The Winged Dragon of Ra!"

"Say what?!" asked Kaiba.

A giant glowing sphere appeared on the field. It then opened up to reveal the Egyptian God of the sun, Ra.

"And when he is summoned, I can reduce my life points down to 100, to power him up!" said Atem. "And that's exactly what I'll do." (The Winged Dragon of Ra ATK: ? – 7900)

 **Kaiba LP: 8000**

 **Atem LP: 100**

"7900 ATK points, on the first turn?!" asked Kaiba.

"Yes Kaiba," said Atem. "But I'm not done. Now I play my Pump Up magic card! It doubles the ATK points of one of my monsters until the end of the turn!" (The Winged Dragon of Ra ATK: 7900 – 15800)

"15,800?!" cried Kaiba. "No! It's not possible!"

"Maybe for a normal duel monster," said Atem. "But as you know, it's no mere monster, it's a God!"

" _Just like I told Tempest,"_ thought Kaiba.

"Ra! Destroy his dragon!" ordered Atem.

"Nooooo!" cried Kaiba. "Not again!"

 **Kaiba LP: 0**

 **Atem LP: 100**

"Hooray!" said some of the guards.

"Long live King Atem!" said the others. "Long live the Pharaoh!"

Kaiba was in absolute shock. "How could I let this happen? I went through all _this_ , just have my scars of defeat reopen? I wasted all this time and money just to have history repeat itself? No! This can't really be happening! Everyone gets what they desire. What do I have to do to _finally_ get what I rightfully deserve?! It's not fair! When will I finally get _my_ shot?! How do I beat you?!"

"Silence, worm!" said one of guards. "You have no right to speak to our king like that! Now begone! You've wasted enough of his time already!"

" _If only we were back in my office instead of here,"_ thought Kaiba. _"I would be the one telling him that."_

"Kaiba," said Atem. "Your scars of defeat will only continue to burn if _you_ let them. Maybe it's just time to let it all go, and move on with your life."

"I can't!" said Kaiba. "I told you before! I am this best at everything I do! But when it comes to dueling, you always one step ahead! But everyone knows that I…"

"Silence!" said the guard as he held up his spear. "Never speak to our King like that! Ever!"

"Relax," said Atem.

"Yes your highness," said the guard.

"I just… can't," said Kaiba. "Not matter what I do, I can't let it go. I've tried so hard, and spent more money, time, and effort than anyone else in the world. Not to mention I have the best technology. I just feel that I deserve to be the best."

"I understand that, Kaiba," said Atem. "But when you only fight for yourself, you've already lost the battle. I never dueled only for myself, nor did I ever duel alone."

"Please, I've heard all already," said Kaiba. "I just can't believe there's something in this world that I can't do."

"Kaiba," said Atem. "You have a brother, and a company to take care of. You can't just keep pulling yourself into these situations. It's time for you to let it all go! And if you can't, I'll help you! The same way I did the first time we met! By opening your mind! Mind Crush!"

The part of Kaiba's mind that held onto the constant thirst for victory was destroyed and banished. Kaiba then took a deep breath. "I've… felt this feeling before."

"There, Kaiba," said Atem. "Maybe now you'll begin to truly see, that there's more to life, than just holding to an old personal grudge. Especially when you have much more important things to worry about back home."

"I can't believe I'm about to say this," said Kaiba. "But maybe you're right. No wonder you're a Pharaoh. Maybe this is just a lost cause. Very well. Then I guess this truly is farewell, Pharaoh."

"I wish you success, Seto Kaiba," said Atem.

"That's all I ever get," said Kaiba. "But thank you. Goodbye."

Atem waved back, then sat back in his chair.

A short time later, Kaiba was back in his pod, ready to go home and forget all about his old grudge. "Duel Dimension System! Activate!" The cube activated, covering the entire pod in golden light. But as the process was beginning, something short circuited, and the controls began to spark electricity.

"Oh no!" said Kaiba. "What's going on?!" Despite the malfunction, the pod still began to teleport.

* * *

"Aaahhhh!" cried Kaiba as he fell through a strange, colorful, spiral-like vortex.

* * *

A few seconds later, the pod appeared in a strange alternate world.

"What happened?" asked Kaiba. "And where am I?" But when Kaiba tried to open the pod, he saw a hoof instead of his hand. "What the?! What is this?!" He then looked in the monitor and saw a horse-like reflection of himself. Plus, he was naked. "No! No! T-this can't be real! I just need to get out of this pod!"

When he got out, he saw a small normal looking village nearby. "I gotta find out where I am!" But when he tried to run, he immediately collapsed. "What's has happened to me?" Kaiba took a look at his body, and instead of his normal human form, he had a small peach colored pony body, with a symbol of a white dragon on his flank. "WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME?!" Two ponies heard the noise and came to see what was happening.

Kaiba saw two ponies approach him. One was white, the other was cyan gray with a horn on his head.

"Hey buddy!" said Double Diamond. "You okay?"

Kaiba was too shocked to speak. "I gotta get out of here!"

The pod began to short circuit again. And the cube started to glow. The pod's window was still open, so Kaiba immediately jumped back in. "Please! Take me home!" The pod then vanished.

"What the heck was that?" asked Party Favor.

"Not a clue," said Double Diamond.

* * *

A few seconds later, Kaiba was back home in his space station, with clothes on. "Thank goodness! Whatever that was, I shall never repeat it to another living soul, ever again. Besides, who would believe me? I don't even believe it. The Pharaoh was right, it all just is a lost cause. And Mokuba was right as well. This test pod _was_ too dangerous. I'm just going to forget all about this pod and get to work on my next tournament."

Mokuba then appeared on a screen. "Seto! You're back!"

"Hi Mokuba," said Kaiba.

"So, how did it go, Seto?" asked Mokuba. "Did the pod work?"

Kaiba wasn't sure how to answer.


End file.
